


Choices

by Talon88



Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-16 21:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 68,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17553536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Talon88/pseuds/Talon88
Summary: This is an alternate universe story based on the Legends Star Wars novels.  It starts a few years after the novel Vision of the Future.  In this story, Mara turned down Luke's marriage proposal.Most Luke/Mara 'shippers were not happy with the beginning of the story, but they all agreed they loved how it ended.This was originally an angsty one-shot viggie, but I was told I had to continue the story and 'Fix' the evil I have bestowed upon all L/M 'shippers.





	1. Chapter 1

****

"I can't believe I am doing this," Mara muttered to herself as she brought the Stealth Fighter prototype into orbit over the planet of Nirauan.

After her first harrowing ordeal on that planet five years ago she swore she would never return. The planet held too many bad memories: her being shot and the destruction of her ship being the least of them. The worse moment was the look on Luke's face when she turned down his proposal of marriage.

" _Mara, we are meant for each other_. _We are destined to be together. I can feel it through the Force… and I can feel it here_ ," Luke had pleaded as he held his hand over his heart.

" _I am sorry Luke, I can't… I just can't_ ," she had sobbed.

A part of her had wanted to say yes to his proposal as she was sure they most likely wouldn't survive the day anyway, but she knew better. It was Force bonding that had occurred while they were fighting the sentinel droids that was responsible for her strong feelings for Luke, it was not a passion based on love or a long courtship. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Luke and, in her own way, she probably did love him, but Mara was too pragmatic to let Force induced emotions sway her into making a lifelong commitment to the Jedi. Perhaps in time she could develop true romantic feelings for the Farmboy, but she would be damned if some Force epiphany was going to determine who her lifemate would be.

So Mara and Luke parted their own ways, remaining friends. Of course, Luke had trouble accepting Mara's decision. He was convinced that his destiny was to be with her and told her so on many occasions, but Mara steadfastly refused to even entertain the notion of getting involved with him. She was certain that any intimate relationship they began would end up in failure. They were too different.

He was a Jedi Master and rebel hero. She was a former Imperial Assassin and a smuggler. She would be better off dating somebody more like her, like Karrde or Lando.

But, to Mara's dismay, Luke refused to get discouraged. He continued to try to convince her that they were destined to be together. The last incident was after the Outbound Flight mission they performed together. Once again they were on Nirauan and once again Luke proposed to her at the end of the conflict.

" _Mara, over the years I have spent days, sometimes weeks, in meditation. Every possible future I have seen includes you. In it we're happy. We're a family. I even see children, Mara. Why wont you accept this_?" Luke beseeched her.

Mara remembered the pained look in his eyes when she once again refused to even start a relationship with him, let alone marriage. _"Luke, I am just not ready for that kind of commitment with you."_

" _I understand Mara,"_ he said quietly, nodding his head dejectedly. He tried to maintain his stoic Jedi façade, but Mara could see unshed tears glistening in his eyes as he turned away and walked out of the room and out of her life.

That was two years ago and she had not seen or heard much from him since.

It wasn't until he was out of the picture that she realized that she actually missed the Jedi and his annoying habit of dragging her into harms way. And, after a failed relationship with Karrde, Mara seriously started considering Luke as a prospective mate. She tried to contact him numerous times but failed. Finally she contacted his sister and was shocked to discover that even Leia wasn't sure where Luke was a majority of the time.

"He takes off in his X-Wing and disappears for weeks, sometimes months, at a time," Leia confided in Mara.

To make matters worse, Leia inadvertently discovered that Intelligence had begun investigating Luke's activities since the Outbound Flight investigation. "Security has tried to put a homing beacon on his ship, but he always performs a scan before disembarking. He is hiding something, Mara. I am afraid Luke is into something that can get him into trouble."

It was then that Leia asked Mara to tail Luke the next time he went away on one of his clandestine journeys.

Leia called in some favors and was able to procure a Stealth ship. "With you being able to cloak your presence and with a ship that doesn't show up on sensors, you should be able to follow him. Please find out what he is up to, before somebody else does. I need to know what he is doing."

Mara agreed, not only for Luke and Leia's sake, but also out of her own curiosity. She had become accustomed to him chasing her, pleading with her to marry him or at least go out on a date. She now wondered what had changed.

She doubted that Luke was doing anything nefarious, but had he perhaps found somebody to occupy his time. Could his jaunts away from Yavin and Coruscant actually be secret rendezvous' with a lover? That would explain his disappearances and his sudden lost of interest in her.

Mara was shocked to find herself feeling jealous over the prospect. She knew it was unreasonable to do so, did she actually expect Luke to pine over her for the rest of his life?

When she took on the mission and began following him two days ago, she had assumed he would go to some lover's destination on Corellia, Lianna, or, Force-forbid, Chad, but to find herself orbiting Nirauan as Luke's X-Wing dipped into the atmosphere was troubling to say the least.

' _What in the Corellian Hells is he here for?_ ' Mara thought to herself as her mind frantically tried to think of a reason for Luke to travel to the stronghold of the Empire of the Hand.

' _The Chiss must have dug out the Outbound Flight wreck and found Jedi records.'_ Mara reasoned as it was the only logical explanation she could think of, unless…

At the end of their last mission to this planet the Empire of the Hand had invited Mara to join their organization, but she refused. The offer was tempting, but her loyalty to Karrde and the money she was raking in at the time made her decline. Could they have made the same offer to Luke?

She contemplated the possibility briefly, but then dismissed the idea as ridiculous. Luke was loyal to the New Republic, and even though The Empire of the Hand was no longer the enemy of the NR, Luke's affiliation with them could only complicate life for him, his sister, and everyone involved.

No, it was more likely that Luke was researching the Jedi and was keeping this fact secret, possibly to avoid bureaucratic red tape from hindering his research. Or at least that is what Mara told herself as she followed Luke's fighter into the atmosphere.

She kept back from Luke's fighter as far as possible without losing visual contact. When

Luke dived down a narrow valley and set his ship down in a small military spaceport, Mara quickly dropped her craft down behind an outcrop of rocks about eight kilometers from the base. After spreading a camouflage tarp over the ship, she hefted a small equipment satchel on to her back and began the long trek to the military facility on foot.

It was dark by the time she arrived at the spaceport, a small military base of an old Imperial design which she was familiar with. Shielding her Force signature heavily, but still able to sense Luke's presence, which shone like a beacon, she located him in a small, one-story building at the far end of the facility.

She surreptitiously made her way over to the building, easily overriding the locks, and silently entering the facility.

It appeared to be standard military VIP suites and she was relieved to find this wing of the base was empty. With any luck, Luke was the only person in the area at this time of evening.

Using the Force, Mara quickly ascertained what room he was located and quietly slid into a small storage room a couple doors down from his suite. She would wait until late at night, when he was sure to be asleep, to sneak into the room. With any luck she would be in and out in minutes, just needing to find out what he was doing to report back to Leia… and to satisfy her own curiosity.

A little past 0200 hours, Mara slowly slid open the closet door and lightly stepped out into the empty hallway. Cautiously she made her way to the room Luke occupied. She worked swiftly to hook up an electronic lock decoder to his door and it took only a minute for the system to run through a few thousand possible combination sequences. A green light appeared on the hand held machine and with a soft click, the door quietly slid open.

Out of sheer habit Mara unholstered her holdout blaster and softly stepped inside to survey the room. It was the standard Officer Suite with a main sitting room, kitchenette, and a door leading to a separate bedroom.

Moving toward a small desk cluttered with paperwork, she dug into her pocket and produced a small penlight, which she lit and began to look through the papers. To her relief, the documents only revealed information on the Jedi and Outbound Flight. She smiled knowing that some old tome of Jedi Lore was only thing that could pull Luke away from his family, the NR and her.

She was about to leave when she noticed the signature on the bottom of some of the reports.

_Luke Skywalker_

_Lieutenant Commander,_

_Empire of the Hand_

Her hands trembled slightly as she picked up the flimsiplast. She couldn't believe it. Luke did take their offer!

' _He walked away from the Jedi, the NR, his sister… and me for…_ ' Mara stopped in mid-thought. ' _For what_?'

She didn't think the remnants of the Post-Palpatine Empire had anything to offer Luke. They had promised the NR the return of the Outbound Flight wreckage and its contents in due time. There was no reason for Luke to join their cause to gain access to the contents of the ship.

A horrible thought struck her. Could they have offered him power? Luke fell to temptation once before on Byss….

The shock of this revelation resulted in Mara's shields faltering for a split second before she could strengthen them, but the damage had been done.

"What the Kriff!" Mara heard Luke say behind the bedroom door, along with the sound of him stumbling about the room.

She quickly turned and dashed towards the exit, still clutching the papers. Her way became blocked when a Force shove slammed the door closed.

"Who's there?" Luke demanded as he fumbled for the light switch.

There was nowhere for her to go so she reluctantly stopped and turned to face him. "It's me Luke."

"Mara?" he blinked as his eyes adjusted to the brightness once he turned on the lights, "What are you doing here?"

For a moment she couldn't find the words to speak as the sight of him warmed her heart. Until now she never realized how much she really missed him. As he stood there wearing only loose sleep pants, Mara's gaze wandered over his muscular chest and up to his handsome face and beautiful blue eyes. Eyes that gazed back at her in confusion.

She was a fool, she finally realized. They really were meant to be together.

Luke gaze narrowed as he noticed the flimsiplast Mara still clutched in her hand. "What are you doing here, Mara?" he asked again, this time his voice tinged with anger.

"I was going to ask you the same thing, Farmboy?" Mara replied defensively. "Intel has been getting mighty suspicious of your activities of late. I thought I would check out what you are doing before they found out." She walked over to her friend and thrust the paperwork in his face. "Lieutenant Commander?" she growled incredulously. "Luke, what could the Imperials and Chiss possibly offer you to get you to work for them? Money, power? You could have had that with the NR if you wanted it."

"Mara, it is not what you think," Luke was suddenly quiet. "First of all, the Empire of the Hand has the same goals as the NR. They fear something, an enemy from outside our galaxy, and through my meditations, I have seen it also. Second, I am not here for the money or power, my reasons are… personal."

That piqued Mara's curiosity. "Personal? What do you mean by that, Skywalker."

Luke's face hardened as he grabbed Mara at the elbow and guided her to the door. "Mara, I don't have to answer to you. You are not my superior or…. or anything else to me. I suggest you get back in your ship and get off planet, or I will call security."

Mara angrily shrugged out of his grip. "Don't you dare try to dismiss me. I want to know what is going on with you!"

"Luke?" a groggy female voice called from within the unlit bedroom.

"Go back to bed, Jadie." Luke called back as he glanced nervously at the bedroom door.

Mara stepped back in shock. "Jadie! You have a girlfriend here?"

Luke's eyes turned into slits as he gazed at Mara. "No, I have a wife here, Mara," he answered hotly. "Now please leave and don't come back."

Mara could only stare at Luke in shock. Her stomach clenched and she experienced a horrible sense of loss with the realization that Luke had indeed found somebody else. She had stupidly refused Luke's advances one too many times over the years and now it was too late.

She nodded dumbly, embarrassment quickly displacing her sorrow as she realized she had thrown away her only real chance of romance and marriage.

Turning to leave, she saw movement at the bedroom door. A woman stood there wrapped in a bed sheet, her mouth hanging open, a stunned look on her face.

"Luke… Luke, who is this woman?" The other woman asked as she sidled up next to Luke, her arm possessively snaking around his waist. Mara gazed dropped down to the woman's swollen belly as she was obviously in the third trimester of pregnancy.

"Jadie, I told you to go back to bed," his voice was angry at first, but he then gave a resigned sigh as he leaned over and gently kissed her on the top of her head. "I'm sorry, my love."

"Luke, she… she looks so much like me," the redheaded woman whispered an awe.

Luke shook his head slowly, "No, Jadie honey, you look like her… you're her clone."

Luke turned back to Mara and gazed into her shocked green eyes, "I'm sorry Mara, but the Empire of the Hand did have something they could offer me. Something I wanted very badly."


	2. Chapter 2

Mara stared at Luke in shock. For a moment her mind went numb, the blaster and flimsiplasts she had been clutching so tenaciously to moments before slipping from her grasp, landing with a muffled thud on the carpeted floor.

When full comprehension of his confession hit her she felt a deep, black anger envelop and swirl through her very soul. A powerful surge of the Force rolled up her legs, torso and finally extended out, as her fist seemed to move of its own volition and found its way to the side of Luke's jaw. Luke went down hard and Mara moved forward to strike him again, but somebody grabbed her around the neck and pulled her backwards.

In her rage she had completely forgotten about Jadie. No, she corrected herself, she didn't actually forget the woman, just completely dismissed her as a possible threat being that she was ready to drop a baby any day now. Mara soon realized her mistake.

Normally she would have easily removed herself from the headlock with a spinning elbow to the face or gut, maybe even a shoulder throw, but even Mara couldn't bring herself to strike a pregnant woman. Instead she opted for a less lethal escape. Grabbing one of Jadie's fingers she bent it backwards, hard, not enough to break the digit, but with enough force to encourage her to loosen her grip. Once out of Jadie's surprisingly strong headlock Mara followed up with a painful heel scrap down her shinbone. This elicited a cry followed by a few choice epithets from the woman.

' _At least Skywalker didn't special order a meek and submissive bride_ ,' Mara thought as she rubbed her sore neck from the impressively strong hold, surprised at her growing sense of pride in her clone. But before they could resume their fisticuffs she heard the discharge of a blaster and then everything went black.

Lowering the weapon, Luke sighed. He didn't want to have to stun his friend, but he also didn't want his pregnant wife to be harmed either.

Coming to a decision, he turned to his wife, "Jadie, please go lay down. I will take care of this."

"Not until you tell me what is going on Jediboy," the clone glared at Luke as she clutched her abdomen, the sheet she had worn earlier having fallen way during the tussle leaving her wearing only an undershirt and panties. "Who is this woman?"

"I told you," Luke said softly, "She is the original that you were made from."

Her eyes went wide. "Mara Jade? _Thee_ Mara Jade? How is that possible Luke? She has to be long dead!"

Luke's shoulders slumped. "Jadie, the Empire of the Hand and I haven't been totally forthright with you. I promise you, I will explain everything in the morning but first I have to take care of this problem. When she wakes up she will be madder than before, if that is possible."

Crossing her arms in front of her chest Jadie scowled at her husband. It was during times like these, when she was furious with him, that she reminded him so much of Mara. Laying the blaster down on the desk he drew his wife into an embrace.

"Please, Jadie," he pleaded. "You know the doctor told you to take it easy these last few weeks of the pregnancy. I am pretty sure he would not approve of you fighting a former Imperial Assassin."

He gave her a pleading look that always seemed to melt her resolve. "Damn it Skywalker, you better fill me in on all the details tomorrow, or you are going to have two irate women after your hide."

Luke smiled at his bride, "Believe me, Jadie, that is the last thing in the world I would ever want."

After he helped his wife back to bed he returned to scooped up Mara Jade, carrying her out of his suite and down the hall to his office. Propping the unconscious redhead into an oversized lounge chair, he seriously considered cuffing her, but perhaps that would not be the best way to approach the situation.

He did take a small blaster out of his desk drawer and set it for stun.

Sitting at his desk he waited for Mara to wake up. A stress headache started to form under his temples and he rubbed his forehead trying to relieve the tension as he thought of what he would tell Mara when she woke up.

' _This is not good,_ ' he thought, ' _the only way I can make her understand the situation is to tell her the whole truth… but I really don't know if she is ready hear it.'_

 

.

.

Mara woke up to a throbbing headache as if a rancor had taken up residency in her head and was now trying to squeeze out of its confines by way of her temples. At first she was disorientated, but then remembered her encounter with Luke and his… his wife.

Looking up sharply in an attempt to locate Skywalker, the movement elicited a sharp pain through her skull and a wave of blackness swam in front of her eyes. When her vision cleared she silently took inventory of her surroundings. The room appeared to be a nicely furnished, but dimly lit office, not the Skywalker apartment. There was a large wooden desk taking up most of the room, behind which was an equally large chair framed by a huge picture window. It was still dark outside, meaning she couldn't have been out for long.

' _That low-life Jedi stunned me!_ ' Mara fumed as she silently berated herself. First she let a very pregnant female get the drop on her, then Skywalker. Skywalker! That miserable, clone-kriffin', son of a Sith stuns her, probably with her own blaster!

The object of her rage must have sensed that she was conscious because he suddenly appeared at her side. Luke went to put his hand on her shoulder, but at the last second thought better of it. "Mara, I am so sorry that I had to stun you."

Mara's emerald eyes seemed to burn through the Jedi Master. "When it stops hurting for me to move… or breath, I will kill you, Skywalker!"

She wanted to scream and attack the Jedi Master, but the pain in her head was too much… all of this was just too much. First she realized she had feelings for the Jedi and then the next moment she discovers he was married and expecting a child. Expecting a child with her clone!

Mara closed her eyes and bit her lower lip as she tried to rein in her emotions, but it was no use. Mara Jade, the former Emperor's Hand did the unthinkable. She buried her head in her hands and cried.

The sight of Mara in tears panicked Luke more than if she shot Force lightning out of her fingertips. He never had seen Mara cry, didn't think she was capable of it, but now here she was bawling in his office. Stepping forward to comfort her, he hesitated, his healthy sense of self-preservation screamed that it was a trap. She was trying to lure him close so she could throttle him.

Tentatively he reached out with the Force only to find no duplicity on Mara's part… only intense sadness and anger. "Mara, I know this looks bad, but things are not as they seem."

Mara stopped crying long enough to gaze up at Luke, her once beautiful eyes blood shot and her face streaked with tears. Her words were hissed as if the words were painful to speak. "What it looks like is I turned down your proposal for marriage so you asked the Empire of the Hand to create a pretty little bride made to order!"

"Mara, that's not true," Luke defended. "The Empire of the Hand did contact me, but they already had Jadie prior to our work with Outbound Flight. They didn't make her for me, they… well, I'm not sure what their true purpose for making up a clone of you, their story seems to change daily, but she was made shortly after our escape from Nirauan."

Mara's rage seemed to ebb away slightly as the story began to unfold. If Jadie already existed at that time, then she couldn't be angry at Luke for 'ordering' her. There was still plenty to be angry with though. "How did they get my DNA?"

Luke walked over to his desk and sat down facing Mara. "It seems that when they shot you they were able to retrieve enough blood or skin cells to isolate a small portion of genetic material. They then replicated what little DNA they had until they had enough to start the cloning process."

He leaned back in his chair and gazed intently at Mara, watching her reactions. "Jadie was born approximately a year after our escape. When the Empire contacted me after Outbound Flight, she had already spent two years undergoing training with their organization. Initially they told me they had a Force strong agent that they wanted me to train. And, well," Luke shrugged, "you know I could never turn down the chance to train a potential Jedi. I didn't know who it was until we met face-to-face."

"And you thought, hey, here is my chance to knock boots with a Mara Jade look-alike!" Mara spat, half of herself disgusted, the other unsure.

"Jade! You know I would never do that!" he quickly defended, hurt at her worlds. "Now, I can't deny that I was attracted to her, but who can blame me, she is beautiful, very much like the original." Luke ventured a smile at Mara and was pleased when she simply looked away embarrassed. "No, in fact, I was determined not to get involved. I feared I was just on the rebound. But after months of working closely with her, I truly started to fall in love with her. Her, Mara, I fell in love with Jadie. You have to believe me."

Despite the painful throbbing in her temples, Mara could feel Luke's sincerity through the Force. It was hard enough to know that Luke had moved on… with her clone, but to know that he was truly in love with the interloper was disheartening. Sighing, she dropped her chin down to her chest in defeat.

"I didn't start a relationship for about eight months. I was still torn as to the… I don't know, the morality of the situation. One day I meditated on it, and once again I had the vision of me and you and children. This time I looked closer to my vision and I realized it wasn't you after all, but Jadie."

Mara glanced up at him confused. "We're identical clones, Luke, how could you know?"

Luke fidgeted in his seat, then said sheepishly, "Umm… not quiet identical, Mara."

Mara raised one slim eyebrow. "Oh, pray-tell, Luke, how are we different."

"I guess you didn't get a good look at her while in the apartment, Mara," he scratched his neck, "well, ummm… you see, she is younger than you, physically."

"Younger!" Mara new her mouth was gapping but ignored it. "How much younger?"

"Well, her physical age is probably around twenty-three to twenty-five," Luke said almost apologetically, "so I guess that would make her about fifteen years younger, I would say."

"I am _not_ forty years old, Skywalker!" Mara growled.

"Okay, give or take a few years," Luke corrected. "The point is, for the first time I noticed the woman in my visions was not you. That was the turning point; it was like the Force was telling me that this is the woman I was destined to be with."

Mara pinched the bridge of her nose, could this story possibly get any worse?. "Let me get this straight, Skywalker, you proposed to me two years ago, I turn you down. Then you meet my clone… a much younger clone and ask her to marry you. She accepts and now she is carrying your child?"

"Children," Luke muttered.

Mara looked up, "What?"

"Children," said louder, "she is pregnant with twins."

Mara could only laugh.

"It figures," she wiped away a tear. "This teaches me to turn down an opportunity for marriage and children." Mara took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. "I am happy for you, Skywalker. I hope you and… it's Jadie, isn't it? I hope you and Jadie are very happy together."

"Thank you," he said softly.

It was going to get even more awkward if Mara didn't do something, so she asked a question that had been bothering her. "Who named her?"

"What?"

"You heard me Farmboy," her words didn't have the sharpness they normally would, "who named her Jadie?"

Luke pulled at his collar which seemed to have gotten suddenly tight, "I did."

"Ha!" Mara pointed her finger at him as if she solved everything. "You say this was not you on the rebound, but you name her Jadie. Jadie, Jade, you see any similarities there Farmboy?"

Luke blushed profusely, "Well, I had to call her something and I kept catching myself calling her Jade, so I thought 'why not Jadie'. Besides, I really couldn't keep calling her EH05, now could I?"

Mara's brow creased in confusion, "EH05?"

"That is what the cloners named her, EH05, for Emperor's Hand Number Five."

"Number five! Five! You mean to tell me there are four others!" Mara shrieked and then immediately regretted her outburst when a sharp pain erupted behind her eyes. "I swear by the Force, Luke, if you tell me you started a Mara Jade harem, I will kill you!"

Luke chuckled as he rubbed his still swollen and bruised jaw. "No Mara, believe me, I can barely handle one of you. Two of you together in the same room has already proven dangerous to my health I can't imagine what I would do with a half-dozen of you… although I am sure some of the guys in Rogue squadron would have a whole lot of suggestions for me if they knew about this."

Mara's eyes widened in surprise at Luke's suggestive joke. It wasn't like to the stoic, boring, and chaste Jedi Master to act like, well, a Rogue pilot. Perhaps married life was being good to him.

"So what happened to them," she asked out loud.

Luke was silent for a long time as he contemplated how to answer. "The original four cloning attempts were made prior to our encounter with the Empire of the Hand… before we traveled to Nirauan for the first time, but the DNA was too old, degraded."

She sensed through the Force that Luke was holding something back, something he didn't want to tell her. "How did they get this older DNA!" Mara repeated the question twice, raising her voice as much as she dared.

"The scientist the Empire of the Hand used was a cloner for the Emperor himself, was the one who set up the cloning cylinders on Byss. He had saved dozens of frozen samples from Palpatine's DNA vault, unfortunately, your DNA had been in cryogenic suspension for too many years to be used successfully."

Mara waited for Luke to continue, knowing there was something else. No way would he be concerned about letting her know that Palpatine kept tissue samples from his most trusted Hands. "What are you not telling me, Luke?"

Luke turned away because he couldn't look at his friend as he told her. "The DNA was degraded because it had been in cold storage for over 50 years."


	3. Chapter 3

Mara stared at Luke as if he was out of his mind. "Okay," she said slowly, "I _may_ be forty, but there is no possible way that I am even close to fifty."

Luke shifted in his chair uncomfortably, "I didn't suggest that you were."

Mara shook her head, quickly becoming exasperated with Luke's head games. "You insinuated as much when you said my DNA had been in cold storage for 50 years."

"I said it was your DNA," Luke replied quietly, "but I didn't say it came from you."

"Well, how is that possible, unless…." Mara stopped in mid-sentence when she finally understood what he was saying. "No, that's impossible," she murmured in disbelief. "Who told you this?"

Luke folded his hands together on the table in front of him and fidgeted nervously. "The cloner I was talking about, Dr. Bentu, said he didn't know where Palpatine acquired the original DNA tissue sample, but he had a certain... fondness to that particular clone model. Bentu thought the original was perhaps somebody that meant a great deal to Palpatine at one time because he used the DNA to create a number of clones. Often Dr. Bentu would alter the DNA just enough so that it wasn't obvious that the various copies were clones... maybe change little things like facial structure or height, but the emperor preferred that the clones maintain their red hair and green eyes."

Mara didn't know what to say and the headache that had been subsiding suddenly came back with a vengeance. "Skywalker, do you have something to drink in this office?"

Walking over to a small cooling unit, he pulled out some bottle water and Mara shook her head at the proffered beverage. "Do you have anything stronger?"

Luke twisted off the cap and took a long drink from the bottle. "I'll have my aide bring you something. Will Corellian Whiskey do?"

Mara nodded numbly as she digested the shocking news and Luke clicked on his comlink. "Connor," he spoke into the communication unit.

After about 20 seconds a groggy voice replied, "Yes, Sir."

Luke grimaced when he realized it was only a little past four in the morning. "Sorry to wake you Connor, but could you please bring a bottle of Corellian Whiskey and two glasses to my office."

There was a pause at the other end of the. "Corellian Whiskey and two glasses, uhh..right away, sir."

"Thank you, Ensign Connor, Skywalker out." Clicking off the link he focused his attention back to Mara.

"Thanks," she said quietly and there was a long pause between them.

"So," she finally said, drawing out the word, "not only are you married and having sex with my much younger clone who is carrying your twins, but you are now telling me that I myself am probably a clone. One special made by the Emperor for Force knows what reason." An unsettling thought occurred to her. "Could the original have been Palpatine's wife or lover?"

"Probably not a wife or lover," Luke corrected. " Dr. Bentu said the only occupations these clones were given were assassin or other positions of great trust. He never made up a version of you to be one of Palpatine's concubines."

Relief washed over her at his words but still shuddered at the thought of any version of her lying in bed with her old Master. She had been fiercely loyal to Palpatine- that much was drilled into her head at an early age- but she never found him physically attractive and doubted any woman could. His body had slowly rotted away by the darkside Forces, one of the reasons she had been determined to avoid that dark path, and besides, he was more like a father figure to her.

"So, if it wasn't a lover," Mara ventured, "who does Dr. Bentu think the original was?"

"Because of the Hands' ability to hear Palpatine's voice so clearly through the Force," Luke explained, "Bentu theorized that the original might have been related to Palpatine, perhaps a daughter or sister."

"Oh no, no, no, no, NO!" Mara chanted adamantly. "Force communication doesn't prove anything, Skywalker. After all, we have a bond; we can communicate through the Force. I can even communicate to your sister through the Force, and we're not related."

Luke's eyes went wide as a horrifying thought flittered through his mind, but he shook his head and quickly dismissed the notion. He was about to respond to Mara's statement when she suddenly interrupted him. "Wait, you said Hands! You mean the other Hands were my clones?"

"At least Shira Brie was," Luke admitted.

"Shira Brie!" Mara shouted incredulously. "She was a hack, she couldn't possibly be of my DNA line." Mara folded her arms in front of her chest and looked away from Luke disgusted.

"Bentu did say he made adjustments to each clone," he tried to quell the situation but Mara didn't seem to have listened to him.

"Wait a second," Mara whispered, "didn't you once tell me you and Shira Brie hooked up while she was working undercover as a Rebel?"

"Did I tell you that?" he asked innocently, trying to cover a blush but not denying the accusation.

"So tell me Luke is there something specifically in my DNA that makes you want to have sex with me," Mara said sarcastically, "or are you just into redheads in general?"

"I guess it is just something about you, Mara," he had to smile, that was his Mara. "I never had sex with Admiral Daala or Mon Mothma and they're redheads."

That elicited a chuckle from the woman despite the situation. "Where the hell is that drink. I can use it about now."

Right on cue, there was a soft rap at the office door.

"Enter," Luke called out.

A young human male in his early twenties entered carrying a small tray containing the bottle of whiskey and two glasses. He was tall, tanned, with wavy brown hair and wore a crisp Chiss ensign's uniform. The man gave Mara a cursory glance, but quickly looked away, avoiding her eyes. In the brief time he saw his face she was astonished at how handsome he was.

Mara chuckled to herself, _'Perhaps I was a little too hasty in turning down their job offer. Maybe they could have given me the same deal as they offered Luke._ '

Luke took the tray and waved his hand dismissing the aide. When the young man didn't immediately leave Luke gave him a puzzled look.

"Sir," he spoke in a light voice, "I realize it is not my place to talk, but I wish to remind you that pregnant women should not be consuming alcohol."

Luke smiled at his aide, placing his hand gently on the young man's shoulder and guiding him toward the door. "Thank you Ensign Connor, but I assure you Jadie will not be drinking. Thank you for your concern."

Luke closed the door behind the young man and turned to find Mara smiling broadly.

"What?" he asked.

"He thought I could be your 25-year-old honey," she announced smugly.

"It's dark in here, Jade," Luke replied with a smirk.

"Why you rimworld, bug-eating, sorry excuse for a Jedi Master!" Mara hissed as she painfully raised herself out of the chair.

"I was joking, Jade!" he laughed as he playfully held up his hands to ward off any forthcoming attack.

Mara glared at him for a moment longer, but then carefully eased herself back into her seat. "You are just lucky that that stun bolt scrambled my neurons enough that I am willing to forgive you for that comment."

Luke smiled at his friend and went and poured out two drinks, handing Mara one when he was done. "You are taking this all remarkably well, um, at least after your initial attempt to separate my head from my shoulders."

"If you are talking about the possibility of me being a clone and perhaps the original was a family member of Palpatine…" she took a long breath, "well, how is that worse than what I originally believed?"

She sipped the whiskey relishing the feel of the liquor burning down her throat. "I was raised by Palpatine, he was my Master. He was the closest thing to family I had and in my own way I loved him. However, there was always the gnawing suspicion in the back of my mind that this man that I loved and respected could have ordered the death of my real family and my abduction." Mara downed the rest of the whisky in one draft. "It became a conflict within me. I wanted to know where I came from, the fate of my family, but I never dared to ask Palpatine. I was scared to find out the truth… that he had them murdered."

Luke poured her another shot of whiskey as she continued. "So in a way, this is almost a relief. I wasn't the cause for my parents' deaths. I wasn't abducted, and the man I held in such high regard did care for me, in his own way. That's not so bad considering all else." She glanced up from her glass and raised an eyebrow at Luke. "Really, I thought you would be more upset over the possibility of me being related to old yellow eyes."

Luke cocked his head to the side and gave Mara a confused look, "Why would that upset me? Look at my heritage."

"Well," Mara began, sitting back in her seat, "if I am possibly a daughter to Palpatine, then so is Jadie, and that means she is caring the grandchildren of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader." She had to smirk at the shocked look that crossed Luke's face. "Don't tell me you never thought of it in those terms?"

Luke shook his head in dismay, "No, I never really thought about it that way." He refilled his own glass and took another drink.

Moments passed and then he squared his shoulders, looking up at Mara with determined eyes. "It doesn't matter if that is true or not. They are not destined to follow their forefathers' path. I have no worries about any child you… I mean Jadie and I create." Luke visible flinched at his blunder, the situation getting so confusing that now he was now tripping over his words.

They silently nursed their drinks, both contemplating what had been said.

"What about me and Jadie, Mara?" Luke finally asked softly. "How are you handling that?"

Mara just shrugged her shoulders. "I was pretty angry when I thought you special ordered her. It felt like you were taking the backdoor approach to get what you wanted, but… once you explained the circumstances, I can understand how it happened." Mara smiled bravely at Luke, "After all, who can blame you, she is drop-dead gorgeous."

Luke laughed but then turned somber. "Mara what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know, Luke. What do you want me to do?" her tone became more serious, "Are you going to allow me to leave?"

Luke looked at her in shock, it never occurring to him that she would even consider he would hold her prisoner to hide his secret. "Mara, you are my best friend. I would never keep you here against your will."

"What about your little secret, aren't you worried that I will tell the universe?" Mara scoffed.

A very solemn shadow crossed Luke's face as he walked over to Mara and knelt down in front of her, taking her hand in his. "Mara, I have trusted you with my life since the day we met. Nothing has changed. You do what you feel is right and I will respect your decision."

Mara glanced down at his hands clutching hers, then looked up to gaze into his clear blue eyes. He was her best friend, how she wished things turned out differently, but she could never deny him this happiness he had found, she could never be that petty. "Your secret is safe with me, Skywalker."

Luke smiled and leaned forward to give Mara a chaste kiss on the cheek before he returned to his chair to sit down.

"Before I go, Skywalker," she said tentatively, "tell me something."

Luke nodded his head, "Anything, Mara."

"I was just curious as to what Jadie is like."

"She is very much like you Mara." Luke smiled broadly. "I think being hot-tempered, opinionated and bossy must be genetic."  
Luke turned to a small holoprojector on his desk and activated it. An image of Jadie and Luke embracing shimmered a few inches above his desk and Luke peered at the image with a tender, loving expression. "Dr. Bentu said both of you received the same basic behavioral and instructional flash imprints from the original- language, culture, leadership, ethics, problem solving, et cetera- but both of you are very different because of your real life experiences."

"How so?" Mara asked both mesmerized and curious.

Luke turned back to Mara. "You were raised by Palpatine from a young age, Jadie was born as an adult. You have an entire lifetime of experiences to draw on. Experiences both good and bad. You're a little more short-fused than Jadie. She is a bit mellower, but she never had to survive under Palpatine's rule as an assassin, so that is understandable. You seem to have a greater sense of duty, which you probably acquired from your service under the Emperor. Basically, you both are very much alike, but at the same time very different."

"So," Mara coughed to cover her unease at consuming all the information, "is my showing up going to cause problems for you and Jadie?"

Luke took a deep breath and slowly released it. "I have a lot of explaining to do. Dr. Bentu had told her she was a clone of Mara Jade, a former Imperial Assassin, but Jadie was under the assumption that Mara Jade was the name of the original… the person who's DNA was put into cryogenic freeze 50 years ago. She assumed you were dead or, if alive, close to 80 years old by now. I never tried to dispel that notion." Luke wrung his hands nervously. "When she finds out you're alive and well she's not going to be very happy."

"Why not, she knew she was a clone. What does it matter to her?"

"Well…" Luke said slowly, "I told you that I called her by your name before. She dismissed it because… well, she thought I just had the name of the original on my mind, that I may have heard it from Dr. Bentu. She never thought I actually met the original Mara Jade."

Mara shook her head in confusion, "So what Luke? You knew me. Jadie and I are clones of each other, it is not a bid deal calling her by my name by accident."

Luke blushed and looked away. Realization dawned on Mara and she broke out in laughter. "Oh please, don't tell me you called out my name while you were… you know, when you were…" she could not bring herself to say the words.

Luke's face turned red in embarrassment and anger, "Yes, Jade, I screamed out your name in the throes of passion. There, I said it. Are you happy now?"

Mara paused laughing long enough to say, "Yes, quite."

"In my defense, it happened only once and it was early in our relationship," Luke replied petulantly.

The laughter subsided and Mara gave Luke an amused look, "You are in so much trouble."

Luke's shoulder's slumped. "You are so right."


	4. Chapter 4

Luke was reluctant to say goodbye to Mara, but at daybreak Luke drove her out to her stealth ship. He had tried to talk her into staying for a few more days, but Mara insisted that if Jadie was anything like her she would want her double off planet and away from her husband as soon as possible.

For the last two hours they had discussed what she would tell Leia, but mostly he had rambled on enthusiastically about his wife and his excitement over their impending births. He had been back to Yavin and Corsucant numerous times during the years, but he resolutely kept the knowledge of his family hidden, even from his own sister. It was nice being able to tell someone about his good fortune.

That is what made the situation so bittersweet. He wanted to tell everybody about his newfound happiness, but he feared the fallout from his actions. He had no delusions that marrying the clone of the woman who twice turned down his marriage proposals would make him the laughingstock of the galaxy.

Although, not many people knew of his offer of marriage to Mara Jade, not even his own sister. He was aware that one or two people on the _Chaf Envoy_ saw him propose to Mara after the Outbound Flight investigation and he also suspected that Mara, during her brief affair with Karrde, might have told the smuggling chief of his marriage overtures. Even though Luke had been determined to keep it quiet, during a night out with some of his old Rogue Squadron buddies, a few too many shots of _Rancor Red_ loosened his tongue, and he vaguely remembers confessing his bad luck with women to Wedge, Janson and Hobbie.

It wasn't many people, but it was enough. If Luke showed up with a Mara Jade clone on his arm and two kids in tow the holopress would be unrelenting in their pursuit of all the embarrassing details. Not that he cared about his reputation that much, but he dreaded the humiliation that would be visited upon his wife and children.

Would the holopress try to paint Jadie as an easy replacement, a way for him to get over Mara's rejection and appease his libido at the same time? Would they see what he saw, a unique, wonderful woman, full of life- a woman who completed him?

He cringed at the thought of Jadie becoming dehumanized by the press. They would present her as something less than human, a thing created in a cloning cylinder and grown in a sterile environment with no parents, no family, no past and perhaps no soul. He couldn't bear to see his family dragged through such indignities.

And how would the news affect the Jedi, his family and the nascent New Republic Government? Could the humiliation of a galactic war hero and Jedi Master mare the government's image during a critical time in the peace process? And worse, could his downfall inadvertently but adversely affect Leia's credibility among the government?

These were things he had to consider before he broke the news to the galaxy… if he ever did. One thing he was sure of, he would have to tell Leia and Han… soon. They deserved to know they were going to be an aunt and uncle, but he wanted to discuss this with Jadie first. She was in this mess with him and it would have to be their decision.

Before she blasted off, Luke gave Mara a communication chip with codes needed to contact him on Nirauan if the need arose and then regrettably said his good-byes. He watched Mara's ship as it lifted off and disappeared off into the horizon, then revved up his speeder and reluctantly headed back home, dreading the forthcoming conversation with his wife. Jadie- a very pregnant, hormonally challenged and, for the last eight months, extremely emotional woman.

If he thought his conversation with Mara was difficult it paled to what he would face with Jadie.

When he returned he found Jadie sitting in the small dining area of their suite snacking on some exotic fruit he had picked up on his last trip to the core. Walking over to his wife he gave her a gentle kiss on the lips but he could sense through the Force her continued irritation with him.

"Where is she?" she asked icily as she pulled away from him.

"She went back to Coruscant for now," he answered simply.

"I don't understand why everybody lied to me," she spat angrily. "I was told I was a clone of Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand, but that my original was long dead." She got up and started pacing, agitated. "She doesn't look very dead to me, Luke."

Luke closed his eyes and tried to calm himself in preparation for the upcoming tirade. "Doctor Bentu didn't lie to you. You _are_ a clone of Mara Jade- the person you met last night, only she isn't the original either."

Jadie abruptly stopped her pacing. "You mean she is a clone also?"

"Yes," Luke replied quietly.

"Why was she here and why in our apartment in the middle of the night?"

"Jadie… she was here because… well, I guess my activities of late had made the New Republic suspicious." It was the truth, in reality. "She wanted to find out what I was doing and warn me that I have fallen under the watchful eye of Core security."

Jadie knew he was leaving something out. "So why would a former Imperial assassin care about your welfare?"

Luke sighed, "Jadie, Mara and I have been friends for over fifteen years."

Jadie's eyes turned to slits and Luke could feel her anger through the Force. "Fifteen years," she hissed. "Luke! Why would you hide something like this from me?" Before he could answer Jadie gasped, "You were lovers, weren't you?"

"No we were never lovers, Jadie, we never even dated. See, this is why I never mentioned her existence, I knew you would jump to some absurd conclusion!" Luke shot back, agitated that she not only hit on to the most logical scenario, but the fact that the only reason it wasn't true was that Mara rebuffed his advances.

"How the hell is that absurd when you are calling out her name while in bed?"

"Jadie, that happened once. Once!" he was completely flustered now. "I knew a woman who looks exactly like you for over a decade. It was a natural mistake. It wasn't like I was fantasizing about her while we were making love!"

"Are you sure!" Jadie snarled. "How do you know where your thoughts of her and I begin and end?" She paused for a long moment and then looked up at Luke, her eyes wide. "Now a whole lot of things are making sense to me. The way you looked at me the first time we met-the longing in your gaze. It wasn't me you were seeing, was it?"

"Jadie," he squeaked, "now you are being ridiculous! I looked at you longingly, that your case against me? As far as I can tell, just about every heterosexual male in this Force-forsaken outpost looks at you with desire!" It was a fact he was very well aware of, and in a way dreaded. "You are beautiful, sexy and very alluring! Even if I had never set eyes on Mara Jade in my life, I would have to be an eunuch not to look at you with _longing_."

Jadie glared at her husband as she sat down on the small couch in the sitting area. "You are far from being a eunuch," she conceded reluctantly, then glanced up at her husband with a determined gaze, "I don't want you seeing her again."

Luke sighed sadly, "Jadie, for the last two years I have only seen Mara a handful of times, and each was only for a few moments to exchange greetings. There is nothing between us." Luke walked over and sat next to his wife, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Don't you trust me, Jadie?" He nibbled at the curve of her neck and her eyes fluttered shut as she reveled in the sensations evoked by her husband's ministrations.

"Of course, I trust you, it's just…."

"Just what?" Luke mumbled as he slowly moved down to plant tender kisses on her collarbone.

"It is just," she caught her breath, "I would feel better if I didn't think you were seeing her while on your trips to the core."

"I won't go out to my way to see her, Jadie, honey, but I won't disown her. We've been friends for years and she has saved my life more times than I can count. Please don't ask me to cease all contact," he hesitated for a moment and then quietly added, "and besides, she's family."

"How is she family?" Jadie countered.

"Well, you two are like identical twins, so when the babies are born, Mara will technically be their aunt."

Jadie mulled over that. She didn't particularly like the thought of Mara Jade being around her husband if they had any history together, but the idea of having a blood relative wasn't entirely unappealing. Luke may have been an orphan, but he was raised in a loving household by relatives and later found his sister who made him an uncle. He had a past and family, she had none until Luke made her a wife and soon-to-be mother and now, it seems, she is also had a sister.

"Umm…" she moaned, momentarily forgetting what they were talking about as Luke gently brushed her reddish gold hair aside so he could kiss farther down her shoulder.

"Oh no you don't," she protested as she pushed him away. "You always do that. Pouring on that Skywalker charm when you want to shut me up."

"It usually works," he confessed with a smile.

"It works too well," she laughed sardonically, rubbing her hands over her swollen belly. "If I recall the twins are the result of our last big argument."

"I can't help it, Jadie, I love making up with you."

She suddenly became silent and Luke noticed her mood went from irritated to deeply downhearted.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" he asked, concerned about her shift in attitude.

"Is Mara Jade well known in the galaxy?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he said slowly, "her and I have worked on some very high profile missions. I would say she has a fairly elevated celebrity status," he answered truthfully, not sure where Jadie was going with this line of questioning.

"Oh," she replied, sadly looking away.

"Jadie," Luke said as he gently brought his hand to her cheek and turned her head to face him. "What's wrong?"

She lowered her head, her lower lip trembling. "I was hoping that after the babies were born we could leave here and go live on Corsucant. I wanted the children to have an extended family, their aunt and uncle and cousins. I have no family of my own, I wanted them to have more than I did."

Luke was silent for a long moment, not knowing what to say.

"That's not possible, is it Luke? Not without all of the details coming out. If I showed up on Corsucant alone people wouldn't think anything of me other than I look like I could be Mara Jade's younger sister, but… if I show up with you, there will be questions."

She stood and walked a few feet, facing away from Luke. After some time she turned back to gaze at him somberly, "You never intended to let my existence be known, did you?"

Luke's throat seemed to tighten up, his mouth becoming very dry. "I don't know what I intended to do, Jadie," he said honestly. "I fell in love. I wasn't thinking of the consequences."

He got up and took Jadie's hand in his and brought it up to his lips, kissing it softly. "I want to bring you home very much, but you have to know it will cause an uproar. The press will be unmerciful and I'm not sure if you would want to endure what they will put you through."

"I am not naïve, I know I am different from… from people who are born. Everybody here treats me well, but I can sense they see me as different," she paused to wipe a tear from her eyes. "Are clones seen as second class citizens in the core? Is it an embarrassment to be married to a clone?"

"No, no Jadie. I could never be embarrassed of you… ever." Luke soothed as he pulled her into an embrace. "Clones haven't really been around since the clone war, I don't think that really would be an issue."

"Then why would the press be so unrelenting. Is it because I am a clone of a friend of yours? Wouldn't that be old news in a couple days?"

"Maybe," Luke said quietly.

"You are not being completely truthful, Luke, I can sense it. You might as well tell me," her words were strained.

"The Holoshills will make a Harvest Day Special out of the news because…" Luke hesitated, "Jadie, because they may know that in the past I proposed marriage to Mara Jade."

"You proposed?" she choked out.

"Twice."


	5. Chapter 5

Jadie's reaction to his confession was quick and painful as she slapped him across the same bruised and swollen jaw that Mara Jade had stuck earlier, causing the Jedi Master to see stars and tears to well up in his eyes.

"You lying, sack of Sith," Jadie spat. "How long were you going to keep that little tidbit of information from me?"

Luke cradled his throbbing jaw in his hand. "Stang, Jadie, I think you dislocated it."

"You will be lucky if that is all I dislocate." The irate redhead began pacing back and forth. "Twice, you proposed twice."

"It's not what you think," he said and then wondered if that really was the truth.

"Now I know why Mara struck you last night," she said venomously as she quickly marched up to Luke and poked him in the chest with her index finger. "You used me to replace her."

"That's not it at all," he defended.

She brought both hands up and shoved Luke away from her. "I should have let her beat you senseless. I can't believe I stopped her. If she were here now I would help her kick your sorry butt from here to the other side of Nirauan!"

"Jadie, honey, you are not a replacement for Mara," Luke implored his wife to listen to him. "Mara and I were never lovers, we never even went on a date."

"You proposed marriage to her twice," she screamed, "and you want me to believe you two were never lovers? What? Did you suddenly have an epiphany and decided you wanted to marry a woman you never dated?"

"Well…" she's wasn't too far from the truth.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Skywalker," her eyes went wild and she looked as if she was going to hit him again. "What kind of vapin' idiot would believe that type of scenario?"

"It's true," Luke answered. "We were in a life-and-death situation. We were fighting Sentinel droids when a type of Force bonding occurred. It temporarily caused a strong connection…" Luke hesitated trying to find the right words to describe what happened that day, "the bond was so strong that I mistakenly mistook it for love."

He suddenly realized that he had never thought of it as a mistaken emotion, although Mara definitely had.

"Okay," Jadie's gaze hardened, "maybe I can accept that for the first instance, but what happened the second time?"

"The second time?" Luke choked slightly on his words, not sure if he was helping or hurting himself right now.

"Yes, the second time you proposed, was there a great Force bonding that occurred that time too?" She placed her hands on her hips and glared at her husband as if daring him to say yes.

"No…" he said hesitantly wondering what the truth would get him this time, "that proposal was a product of a combination of two people coupled with high emotion and proximity. You see, we were fighting these Droidekas when—"

"Oh please," Jadie said exasperated, "more droids? What? Are droids some type of freaky aphrodisiac for you two?"

"Um, no," he was completely thrown by that suggestion, "at least I don't think so."

Shaking her head she marched into their bedroom emerging moments later with his heavy overnight bag, still full of his clothing from his last trip to the core, and threw it towards him. "Go find somewhere else to stay! I want to be alone."

"Jadie, please," Luke caught the bag and dropped it at his feet, his only thoughts on wanting to calm his distraught wife, "all this excitement isn't good for the babies."

"The babies," Jadie shouted then turned cynical, "oh, of course, your, precious, babies. I guess that's my purpose in life, to be the breeding stock for you. To give you the family Jade wouldn't, or perhaps couldn't, provide you."

"That's not true, Jadie," he crossed his arms firmly, "and you know it."

"What happened Luke," she ignored him "was she barren so you had the Empire of the Hand make up a young fertile Mara Jade clone to bear your cherished children? What happens to me when they are born, Luke? Are you going to take the kids and go back to your lover?"

Luke stood stunned that such accusations could possibly be coming from the woman he loved. "I told you, Mara and I are not lovers!"

"I don't believe you!" she yelled, looking as if she was about to break into tears.

"Jadie," he was as soothing as he could be, "you are upset and I can see were you might not believe me when I say I married you because I love you, but you have to, it's the truth. I didn't have the Empire of the Hand make you, I didn't even know of your existence until two years ago."

"I'm not sure I do believe you," she placed her hands on her wide hips.

"Jadie," he sighed, "the EOH had been attempting to make Mara clones years before I even first proposed to Mara. You were made completely without my knowledge and Mara's. She was just as shocked to discover you."

Jadie's jaw clenched and her eyes turned to slits, Luke had seen that look before. It was how Mara looked when she was trying to find a way to blame him for something that didn't meet her approval.

"Why me?" she asked cryptically.

Luke gave his wife confused glance, "Why what, Jadie?"

"Why did the EOH make me if it wasn't for you?"

"Jadie, I only know what Dr. Bentu told me," he decided to come clean. "They wanted someone with Jedi abilities and a known capacity to perform complex and dangerous missions to work for them. They have been under the belief for years that something big will soon threaten the galaxy, and I tend to believe them. I cannot see anything distinct, but there is a whispering in the Force that there is a great catastrophe looming from outside our galaxy."

Jadie seemed to consider this for a moment and then said, "If that was true, Luke, wouldn't they want to have the most powerful Jedi Master in their ranks?"

"I suppose," Luke conceded slowly.

"So don't you think it is just a little bit convenient that they had the one thing that would lure you away from your family, the Jedi and the New Republic?"

"It had crossed my mind, Jadie," he sighed as he reluctantly admitted, "but they'd have to be clairvoyant for them to start trying to make Mara clones years before I ever had any romantic feelings for the woman, real or imagined."

"You were friends right?" Jadie shrugged slightly and chewed her lip. "There were never rumors about you and Mara in the years before your first proposal?"

That stopped Luke cold.

Of course there were stories, hundreds of them as the gossip holos were unrelenting in their speculation. The rumors had started shortly after Wayland with conjecture of a budding romance between the two after Luke spoke on Mara's behalf to keep the New Republic from locking her away.

Through the following years the gossip became more frequent and often ludicrous. Stories ranged from the unlikely scenario that Luke and Mara had secretly married, to the totally insane tale that Mara was actually a Force Vampire, maintaining her youthful appearance by sucking the Force out of Luke. He mentally flinched every time he recalled that particular scuttlebutt holo. Han had ribbed him unmercifully and pestered him with lewd questions as to where exactly on the body does one suck out the Force.

Shaking his head he realized that Jadie might be right, the EOH could have believed the rumors and decided to create an offer Luke could not refuse… a younger, firmer and possibly more fertile version of the woman he desired.

"Jadie," Luke said calmly, "even if that was the reason the EOH created you, I married you because I love you."

When she gave no reply he walked up to her tentatively, wary of another physical attack. "Jadie, I love you, you have to believe me."

Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I no longer know what to believe."

Luke felt as if his heart was being torn out of his body. When he felt Jadie withdrawing from him in the Force he was suddenly filled with panic.

"Jadie, please," he begged his wife, pulling her to him, placing her hand over his heart, "you have the Force Jadie. Look inside me, you have to see that I am being truthful."

Jadie pulled her hand out of his grip, "You are a Jedi Master Luke," she said evenly, "I will only see what you want me to see."

"Jadie," he practically pleaded.

She motioned to Luke's overnight bag lying on the ground. "I need time to think. Please, just leave me alone right now."

Reluctantly he picked up his bag and with heavy heart left his wife alone. Jadie had a right to be mad, but he was shocked and concerned over her emotional state.

He needed to convince Jadie of the truth, but how could he do that when he wasn't even sure what the truth was. Why was Jadie and Mara created? Why did Dr. Bentu and the EOH really want this particular clone?

He needed some answers before he faced his wife again, so perhaps it was time to pay a visit to Dr. Bentu.


	6. Chapter 6

"I cannot believe this," Dr. Bentu moaned as he rubbed his temples where a headache was beginning to form. The elderly senior medical officer and cloner of the EOH paced angrily back and forth in his office while glaring at Luke who was standing sheepishly in front of his desk like a junior officer called on the carpet for a misdeed.

Luke knew the man had to be in his late seventies, but it was obvious that he still maintained his old Imperial exercise regime. He was short, with a stocky and muscular build; his movements quick and fluid. Bentu normally had a sad, but gentle looking face, topped off with a patch of gray hair severely clipped down to his scalp, but there was nothing gentle in his demeanor now.

"Admiral Parck and I gave strict instructions to all personal on the base to not mention the existence of Mara Jade to Jadie, but what do you do? You have her pay a social visit!" The doctor threw his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Doctor," Luke defended himself, "I didn't invite her, she showed up unexpectantly. There wasn't much I could do about it.""

"You must have told her something," Dr. Bentu continued, "otherwise how would she have known you were here?"

Luke reddened in embarrassment, "It seems that she followed me here covertly."

The doctor gave him a dubious look. "You are a Jedi Master and you allowed yourself to be followed?"

Luke shrugged, "What can I say, Mara was well trained."

The doctor stopped his pacing and faced the Jedi.

"Yes," he said fondly, "that she was." The doctor's irritation with Luke quickly evaporated and a smile flashed across his face. Sitting down at his desk he had a faraway gaze, but that smile never left his face as he leaned back in his chair.

"Mara was my masterpiece, you know, the best of that clone line. She was one of the few that were born as a young child and actually raised," he paused for a moment and then gazed up at Luke with a wistful look on his face. "You know, she lived with my wife and I for a year before she was sent to Palpatine. I wanted to make sure there were no… problems." He steepled his fingers and he stared at his hands in thought. "She was such a sweet girl, it broke my wife's heart to part with her. I actually had to pull Mara out of her arms, they both were totally inconsolable," he hesitated for a moment, "I often wondered if Mara remembered us."

Luke was taken aback at the Doctor's admission. "Umm…" he said hesitantly, "Mara mentioned having a faint memory of people she thought were her parents."

The doctor simply smiled and nodded his head.

"Doctor," Luke began, trying to get back on subject, "Jadie went absolutely nuts this morning."

"Of course she went nuts," the doctor interrupted, "that is why I went to great pains to isolate Jadie from the outside world. Adult born clones are inherently emotionally unstable. The synapses are connected in the brain, but the whole system still needs time to mature. It is best to slowly introduce information to them, especially information that could cause emotional distress."

"Emotionally unstable?" Luke stuttered. "Why didn't you tell me? I would think that is something I should have been told before my wedding."

Dr. Bentu gave Luke a dismissive wave of his hand, "Jadie may be an emotionally unstable clone, but she is also a woman. I honestly didn't think you would notice." Dr. Bentu received and angry glare from the Jedi, "It is not permanent, she will outgrow it in a few years." He added quickly, "When she was born she has approximately the mental age of a 14 year old. They mature very quickly, when you married, she would have had the emotional maturity of an 18 year old, which is two years past the age of consent of your home planet, I believe," the doctor added that final part matter-of-factly.

Luke felt his stomach turn and walked over to an overstuffed chair facing the doctor's desk, sitting down heavily. He had felt uncomfortable enough about marrying a woman who was physically almost half his age, but this new information made him feel lecherous.

"Doctor," he said quietly, "Jadie asked me some very uncomfortable questions today and I really need to know the truth so I can answer her honestly."

The doctor's eyes narrowed, "What do you want to know?"

"Well, for one, why was she created," Luke lifted up his hand to stop the doctor from speaking, "and I don't want the rehearsed misinformation you have been feeding me. I want the truth."

"That information is given out only on a 'need-to-know' basis," he began as he chewed his lip.

"Well," Luke angrily rose out of his chair and slammed his hands on the doctor's desk, leaning forward as he spoke, "I need to know, so, either you start talking or I will take Jadie and return to the core!" Luke's eyes became hard. "And don't think that you or any of your men can stop me."

"Oh, sit down, sit down." Bentu motioned toward the chair Luke just vacated. "Don't go all Dark Lord on me."

The comment only intensified Luke's anger. "Don't you dare insinuate that caring for my family is in anyway evil."

"It's not," if Dr. Bentu was intimidated with the Jedi he didn't let on, "but don't forget who you are dealing with. I knew Palpatine, I worked for him for decades, and you Luke are no Palpatine, so don't try to frighten me. Hell, I remember you while you were on Byss, back then you only rose up to the level of maybe Darth Vader-lite."

Luke blanched at the memory of his fall under the Emperor reborn and returned to his seat feeling slightly chastised.

"Just tell me why you made her." Luke said quietly, shifting his weight uncomfortably. "Did you make her to lure me here?"

This question prompted a snort from the doctor. "You have an insufferably high opinion of yourself, I see," he said with a laugh. "No, she was not created to lure you here," he said with an amused look on his face, "but I have to admit that I didn't try to dissuade your advances to Jadie as I did the others."

"The others?" Luke gasped.

The doctor laughed again. "We are on a military base with 200 men and one woman," he said incredulously, "I constantly had young men sniffing around, I had to threaten them all with a court martial to keep them at bay."

Luke wanted to ask more about these men, but the doctor interrupted him. "Oh Hell, I'll tell you, I only intended to keep this a secret from you until I was sure you were trustworthy." He cocked his head an raised his brows questioningly, "I can trust you, can't I?"

"Of course," Luke answered, leaning forward in his chair.

The doctor nodded his head and continued, "The reason we made Jadie is the same reason Palpatine kept making this clone model. The original was special, she not only had the ability to communicate through the Force with the Emperor, but, according to Palpatine, she was what he called a Pathfinder."

"A pathfinder?" Luke blinked. He was the Jedi Master and this was the first he had heard of such things.

"I never met the original, but from what I was told, during meditations, she was able to not only see of the possible futures, but had the ability to compel a specific future to come into fruition by initiating certain key actions in the present."

"Emperor's black bones!" he swore under his breath and sat back in shock, a force user able to determine a particular future would be an incredibly powerful ally indeed.

"Exactly," the doctor nodded knowingly. "She was a handy person to have by your side. I am sure the Emperor's dramatic rise to power was due to her visions."

"So what happened to her?" Luke asked.

"She died unexpectantly," the doctor said with a snicker, "I guess she didn't see that one coming."

"How is that possible?" Luke asked, ignoring the jest, honestly curious of the situation, "If she can see all possible futures, why couldn't she foresee and avoid her death?"

"Perhaps she did foresee it. Maybe at one point all of her futures held the same death, or perhaps Palpatine's later decision to clone her repeatedly confused her when it came to predicting her own future, who knows," the doctor answered indifferently. "All I know is that before she died she told Palpatine a terrifying prediction," the doctor paused and leaned over his desk toward Luke, "trillions of beings, entire worlds, will die in our universe at the hands of extra-galactic invaders."

"Who? When?" Luke asked in shock.

"We don't know any details, but we feel it will take place in our lifetime. The original had found one possible future where we repel the invaders before they even enter our galaxy and she was in the process of backtracking to see when and how to make this future come into being when she died."

"So, that is why Palpatine cloned her," realization dawned on Luke, "but Mara doesn't have this ability that I know of and Jadie doesn't either, although she is still early in her training."

"That was the major problem we ran into." Dr. Bentu confessed. "It seems that although the clones are genetically identical, the midichlorian count can fluctuate dramatically between the clones, and to be honest I am not sure why this is so."

"Midichlorian?" Luke wondered, something else he had never heard of. How did these scientists know more about his Jedi than he did?

"Oh," Dr. Bentu remembered that much of his knowledge about the Force was lost during the Jedi Purge. "Midichlorian levels are indicators of Force potential. The higher the count the greater the ability and at one time it was believed they were actually symbiotic organisms living in human cells. Later I discovered they were simply mutated mitochondria- organelles ubiquitous in humans and most sentient species. What causes the mutation is still in question."

Dr. Bentu ran his hand over his short-cropped hair. "I suppose that if the mutating agent is something encoded in the cellular DNA the variations I have seen in my clones could be due to epigenetic modifications."

Luke raised a single eyebrow.

"There is a lot more to heredity than mere DNA," Bentu explained. "Gene expression can be influenced by environmental factors. But what is confusing is that even when I maintained the same exact gestational environment for all the clones we saw extensive variations in midichlorian levels.

"I then thought it was possible that the mutagen may actually be a virus," he continued, "and an intrauterine infection affecting a fetus may be the reason for a high mutation rate and therefore a high midichlorian number. If this is true, then in the case of my clones, the variations in the Force sensitivity might be the result of varying levels in infection in the original's cell tissues, in addition to the clones' immune response to the infection. The greater the infection, the greater the sensitivity."

"Intrauterine? Wait, wait, wait…" Luke held up his hand in stop gesture while shaking his head. "Doctor, are you saying Force sensitivity is a sexually transmitted disease, because if that was true, wouldn't every woman I have _been with_ become Force sensitive?" Luke scoffed, knowing that Callista's repeated and prolonged exposure to him didn't help her any.

"No, no," The doctor said adamantly, "my theory is that for the Force ability to occur in a person, the viral DNA has to be present early in fetal development, therefore affecting all cells of the body." Bentu then chuckled, "No, the young ladies you have had dalliances with are safe, but I do believe adults exposed to the virus could be carriers and pass on the virus and, therefore, Force ability to their children in vitro. Therefore, your past partners may have Force sensitive children in the future, even if they and their partner have no sensitivity to the Force."

Luke stared at the doctor in shock and suddenly the Jedi code discouraging relationships seemed very, very reasonable. If the doctor's theory was right, libidinous behavior on the part of the Jedi could have resulted in a galaxy full of Force sensitives - and that much power in so many hands would have been a disaster.

That doctor snickered at sight of Luke's face. "Don't worry, it is just a theory. I don't think the NR Public Health office will have to make any STD notifications just yet."

His head spinning in circles, Luke pinched his nose and tried to get back on topic, he would deal with this later after talking to Cilghal. "So, the clones couldn't predict how to stop the war."

"Exactly," Dr. Bentu nodded. "We thought it may have something to do with the cloning process so we tried bringing them out of the cloning cylinder at different points of their physical age, toddler, adolescent, adult, but nothing seemed to help. It was very frustrating to the emperor."

"So what did he do?" Luke asked.

"Without the knowledge on how to stop the war, Senator Palpatine needed to prepare for war on a galactic scale. Unfortunately, he knew there was no way the he would ever be able to raise the army needed by wading through the bureaucratic morass of the Republic Senate and Appropriations Committee. Therefore, he secretly arranged for a great Army to be amassed on Kamino."

"Kamino?" Luke searched his memory, "I never heard of it."

"That is not surprising, Palpatine purged all knowledge of its existence from all Republic memory banks." The doctor smiled, "It was the source of the Grand Army of the Republic."

"The clones?"

"The clones," Dr. Bentu replied smugly, "but Palpatine didn't wish to rely solely on them. He secretly began the construction of enormous weapons of mass destruction such as the Death Stars, the Eye of Palpatine and the Sun Crusher. He also ordered the exploration and mapping of great swaths of the unknown region, searching for signs of the invaders."

The doctor glanced up at Luke and gave him a thin smile. "There was one other minor problem. The Emperor knew that to win this war it would probably necessitate the complete annihilation of the invading Army. He also knew the Jedi and the Senate would never approve of genocide, so they too needed to be eliminated."

Luke moaned in disbelief, "This sounds like a bunch of Imperial propaganda. Are you trying to tell me that Palpatine started the Jedi Purge, the dissolution of the senate, and the construction of the Death Stars in order to _save_ the galaxy!"

"That is exactly what I am saying."


	7. Chapter 7

"Don't insult my intelligence, doctor," Luke said caustically as he folded his arms across his chest and then slowly shook his head in disbelief at the shipload of rancor dung the EOH cloner was trying to shove down his throat.

"I'm not saying that Palpatine was a humanitarian in any way, shape or form," Dr. Bentu replied defensively. "Any desire he had to save the galaxy was simply so he could have a populace to brutalize and subjugate. I know he was evil… look."

Dr. Bentu pulled the collar of his uniform shirt aside allowing Luke a glance at the blotched and speckled patterned of hypertrophic scars covering his neck and chest. The Jedi recognized the wounds as those caused by a Force lightning attack. He and Mara both exhibited that particular burn pattern after their encounter with C'baoth on Wayland, luckily their scars were all but gone after repeated dunks in the bacta tank.

"Palpatine wouldn't let me treat the wounds," Dr. Bentu said matter-of-factly, "he said they would remain as a mute testament of what would happen to me if I failed him again."

"What did you do," Luke asked wide-eyed.

The doctor shrugged, "I really didn't do anything, it was a genetic anomaly with one of clone bodies he occupied on Byss, a mild case of incontinence." The doctor shook his head slowly and then looked up to give Luke a piercing look. "My point is, I know Palpatine wasn't a philanthropist- he was twisted and evil."

"But yet you willing went to work for this monster," Luke countered.

Dr. Bentu laughed.

"Do you think he was always that way? Do you really think he was elected and repeatedly reelected as Senator for over 20 years looking like the wrinkly, jaundiced-eyed, Sith-bag you knew?" The doctor shook his head. "No, my boy, he was a charming man that commanded the respect from the galaxy, elected to Supreme Chancellor by popular vote and reelected. This is the Palpatine I knew when I first went to work with him."

The cloner sat back in his chair and Luke inwardly groaned as he realized he was probably going to be subjected to another long history lesson that old men like Bentu were particularly fond of telling over and over again to anybody willing to listen.

"I had just received my Ph.D. in Genetics, my doctorate thesis being on cloning techniques. I suppose that is why Palpatine sought me out. At that time research grants were hard to come by and I was newly married and needed a job. When Palpatine found me I was doing post-doctorate research on the role of apophallation in the Hutt reproductive life cycle." The doctor held up his hand, stopping Luke from asking any questions. "Don't ask, you don't want to know what apophallation entails." The doctor said emphatically, Luke simply nodded and remained silent.

"Palpatine offered to arrange for me an internship with the Kaminos with a fairly large stipend to support my family," the old doctor continued, "and when he became Supreme Chancellor all types of doors opened for me. He was a good man, or so I thought. It wasn't until Alderaan that I finally realized the full extent of his treachery." The doctor's eyes became downcast. "By that time it was too late. The only way for me to leave his service then was by way of a funerary box." He fell into silence for a moment. Luke was about to ask him about this outside threat again, when the elderly doctor spoke up. "He had deceived everybody. I believe Palpatine savored making fools of the galaxy. Thinking back at how he gained his war powers, I still chuckle."

"How was that?" Luke asked curious.

The doctor gapped at Luke in disbelief, "Didn't you attend school on that rim-world dust ball you were raised on?"

"Yes," Luke said defensively, "But Palpatine had control of the media and banned much of the historical references of his rise to power."

"We're not talking about ancient history here, all you would have to do is ask anybody 20 years older than yourself and they would be able to tell you." The doctor shook his head, but continued, "Palpatine assumed dictatorial powers after a Gungan from the backwater planet of Naboo brought forth the motion to give the Chancellor emergency war powers. Now the Gungan's aren't the brightest of the Galaxy's sentient beings, but the one who initiated the proposal had to be the dullest one of the lot. I always thought this was done purposely on Palpatine's part. He not only tricks the galaxy into handing him the throne but he put the plan in motion using the most asinine creature the galaxy has ever seen," he said with a chuckle.

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose as he considered the elderly man's ramblings. He had learned from experience that if you didn't keep the doctor on track he would spiral off on one tangent to another. "So," Luke began, "when the rebels destroyed Palpatine's super weapons we had effectively doomed the galaxy to annihilation by the hands of this unknown invader."

Dr. Bentu shrugged his shoulders, "Basically… not exactly what you had in mind when you blew up the first Death Star, huh?"

"I am serious," Luke said angrily.

The doctor's face turned solemn, "And so am I, but I have been living with this knowledge for decades. You have to have some sense of humor, or you'll go insane."

"So why haven't you approached the NR with this information?" Luke asked.

"First of all, would they believe me- A former Imperial?" the cloner sneered, "plus, for them to believe the story, I would have to explain my Imperial role, possibly subjecting myself to war crime charges. Thirdly, do you really think that after what happened to Alderaan the New Republic would ever consider building any type of huge weapon system capable of warding off a galactic scale invasion?"

Luke nodded reluctantly, "I see your point. So you decided to try for the Pathfinder clone again."

Dr. Bentu spread his hands across his desk. "It looked like our best option, meanwhile the Chiss are increasing their fleet strength."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier," Luke questioned, "I could have been concentrating on meditation techniques with Jadie."

"I was just following the protocol Palpatine established for his other clones. He first gave them general Force training followed by the more specific instruction in the technique." Dr. Bentu shifted in his chair uncomfortably, "From what I was told, the original always found the meditation process… stressful, both physically and mentally."

"How do you mean?" Luke asked not liking the sound of that.

"Well, according to Palpatine, when his Pathfinder would meditate on the future she would practically glow from the incredible amount of Force energy being channeled through her body."

Luke definitely didn't like the sound of that and he wasn't sure if he wanted Jadie participating in something so risky. "Could the original's death have been caused by these meditative sessions?"

"I'm not sure. As you can imagine, Palpatine was not one for idle chitchat, everything I know about the subject I had gleaned over the years working for him," the doctor paused as he thought about it for a moment, "all I know is it's stressful, so when Jadie became pregnant I put off mentioning it to you or her. I didn't want her doing anything that would endanger the babies." He got up and started pacing behind his desk again. "I have done many things in my past that I have regretted; I didn't want the death or injury of two unborns on my conscious. You can work on the those particular Force techniques after the babies are delivered."

Luke nodded slowly, mulling over the information the doctor had given him.

Bentu turned to Luke and gave him his most serious look. "If Jadie is a Pathfinder you must never tell anybody," he warned. "Many people in this galaxy would kill to get their hands on somebody with that ability. Only the Admiral and I, and now you, know of this, everybody else has only been told… "he thought for a moment, "how did you phrase it… _rehearsed misinformation_."

Luke was silent, the doctor was correct, if Jadie had the ability and word got out, every ambitious senator, drug lord, warlord, or dictator wannabe would stop at nothing to take Jadie from him.

"You look terrible, Commander," Dr. Bentu said, interrupting Luke's musings. "Who gave you that wicked bruise, Mara or Jadie?"

"Both," Luke answered embarrassed.

The doctor laughed and walked over to a supply cabinet on the other side of his office and pulled out a couple of Bacta patches, which he tossed to Luke. "Here, put these on and get some sleep. You look like you have been up all night."

Luke stifled a yawn, "I have," he said softly, considering going back to his and Jadie's quarters, but deciding it was best to give her time to cool off. "I want to talk to you more about this subject, Doctor, but for now I think I should get some rest. If you need me, I will be in my office."

"Certainly," the doctor said with a nod.

Luke pulled himself out of his chair with a low groan. He not only needed the bacta patches, but put himself into a healing trance, not so much for his body, but to heal his haggard mental state. This last day had been too much for him. He needed time to think and recuperate before he faced his wife again.


	8. Chapter 8

Despite being in a healing trance for hours, Luke awoke on his office couch with a stiff neck and his lower legs tingling from lack of blood flow.

When he had arrived at his office earlier he tried to figure out how to fit his 1.72-meter frame onto a 1.5-meter couch. He finally decided to let his legs dangle over the armrest, which probably wasn't the best idea because now his feet were completely asleep. He swung himself into an upright sitting position and rubbed his calves in an attempt to get the blood flowing again.

Glancing at his wrist chrono, it was 20:00 hours. He couldn't believe it had been less than twenty-four hours since Mara broke into his quarters. Today had to be the longest day of his life, even his confrontation with the Emperor and his father on the Death Star wasn't as stressful. Luke realized he would rather face those two Sith Lords again than go up against a hormonally imbalanced, and highly irritable pregnant woman and a scorned, possibly pre-menopausal, formal Imperial assassin again.

He tookfew tentative steps on his wobbly legs, they were holding his weight, but the pin and needles sensation was not realized it was senseless to be sleeping in his office. Jadie had enough time to calm down, he needed to go home.

As he walked to his quarters he was surprised to see his aide leaving his billets. "Ensign Connor?"

The young man seemed a little flustered to see Luke, but quickly regained his aplomb. "Evening Sir," he motioned to the door with a tilt of his head, "your wife had some cravings and she asked me to raid the commissary for her."

"Oh," Luke said knowingly. Since Jadie had become pregnant her appetite not only became voracious but she often desired food that Luke found completely unpalatable. "What was it this time?"

"Durkii gizzards and Bimmell berries," the ensign said with a sour face.

"Thanks for the warning," Luke smiled and gave his assistant a friendly squeeze of his shoulder.

Ensign Jak Connor had been Luke's loyal personal assistant since day one. Admiral Parck had assigned him to the position himself on the high recommendation of Dr. Bentu. Normally the young officer assisted Luke with his research on the Outbound Flight, but while Luke was gone for long periods of time to the core, he kept an eye on Jadie for him… although, force-forbid if Jadie ever found out. It wasn't that Luke didn't trust his wife- he trusted her implicitly- he just didn't trust the 200 other people on this base… not when it came to his wife and unborn children.

"Connor, you don't have to run errands for Jadie, she has no authority over you, you are my aide-de-camp, not hers," Luke added warmly. It was bad enough that Luke had the young man running on errands all day, he didn't want his wife assigning him tasks at night.

The young man smiled, "It's no problem sir. It has to be tough for your wife to get around having twins and all, I am happy to help."

"Okay, as long as you know you don't have to," Luke emphasized. He suddenly grew serious and whispered to the man, "How is her mood?"

"She seemed irate about something when I first arrived, sir, but I think the Bimmell berries calmed her down."

Luke chuckled. "You are a life saver, Connor, take the morning off tomorrow."

"Thank you sir," the young man replied with a curt bow then hurried off down the hall.

Luke turned and stared at the entrance of his quarters, steeling his resolve before punching in the entrance code and entering his suite. The first thing that hit him was the awful stench of fried Durkii gizzards. He pressed his sleeve against his mouth and nose in a feeble attempt to filter out the smell, but it was useless and he finally gave up.

Jadie was sitting at the small dining table slicing up the gizzards in small strips and dunking them in what looked like chocolate sauce before devouring them. Luke's stomach lurched, but he forced himself to sit across from his wife at the table.

"Hey," he said shyly.

"Hey yourself." Jadie glanced up and glowered at him. "I thought I told you I wanted to be alone."

"That can't be true, Connor was here," he pointed out.

"Connor doesn't make me cry," Jade snorted, "plus he brings me Bimmell berries." She popped some of the fruit in her mouth.

"Jadie, I am so sorry for not telling you the whole truth," Luke began, "but you have to believe me I didn't have you made as a replacement for Mara."

"Yes, I know all about it," Jadie interrupted, "Dr. Bentu stopped by earlier. He said he wanted to see if you were still alive or if he needed to forward a casualty report to the NR."

"Oh," Luke said cautiously, "was he able to answer all your questions?"

"Yes, I guess so. I am a clone of some long-dead omnipotent seer and I am the galaxy's only hope to save the universe from destruction." Jadie started out serious, but then her composure cracked and she started laughing.

"What?" Luke said quizzically.

"Oh… it's just," she paused, trying to compose herself, "it just, after the doctor told me that I am the galaxy's only hope for survival he said, 'but, hey, no pressure.'"

Luke smiled, "Dr. Bentu finds humor in the strangest things I have discovered."

Jadie laughed again but then became quiet, her eyes downcast. Luke slowly slid his hand across the table until it rested over hers.

"Jadie, are we going to be alright?"

A tear rolled down her cheek, "I guess," she said with a nod. "I can't blame you for something you didn't do."

Luke let out breath of relief. "Good, good," he patted her hand, "I wouldn't know what I would do without you Jadie. You are everything to me."

"I have to be honest with you though," she looked up, "your relationship with Mara still bothers me. You have been dishonest and hid important information. I don't care what Dr. Bentu said, I should have been told that I am a clone of a woman you loved. You can't deny you loved her, you asked her to marry you…"Jadie's eyes hardened, "twice."

Luke buried his face in his hands and sighed, "Yes, I did."

"I guess the question is," she added quietly, "do you still love her? And how much did your love for her influence your relationship with me? These are important questions, I don't have the answers." Jadie looked into Luke's blue eyes, "I'm not sure if you have the answers either."

"Jadie, Mara is a friend, nothing more," he emphasized again, "I love you. Please don't let this rip us apart."

"No, I won't let it," she sighed, rubbing her belly. "These children deserve to be raised in an intact family. They may have two messed up parents—a Clone of an Imperial Assassin and the son of a Sith Lord—but we are all they got. And if a war is on the horizon, they will need us to protect them." Jadie's throat tightened and her voice became horse as she tried not to cry, "We will protect them Luke. No matter what it takes, I will make sure they are safe and we can only do that by sticking together."

Luke was both elated and saddened by his wife's confession. She wanted to stay with him, but was it just for the sake of the children? Did the events in the last day result in the loss of her love and trust?

He had to know.

"Do you still love me, Jadie?" he whispered, fearing the answer.

She sat silently, looking away.

"Jadie?" he prompted.

"Yes," she said slowly, "No matter how much I want to distrust and hate you and… and run you through with a lightsaber… you were right, I can sense with the Force that you are being truthful. I realize you are probably powerful enough to fool me if you wanted to, but I honestly don't think you are manipulating me with the Force." She wiped away the tears stinging her eyes. "Yes, I love you," she whispered again.

Smiling softly, he stood to lean over the table to kiss his wife when her eyes suddenly went wide, her hands grasping her stomach.

"What is it?" Luke asked panicked, "Is it time?"

"No, no," Jadie answered as she grabbed his left hand and pulled him around the table to place it on her belly. "Feel them," she said excitedly.

Luke went silent trying to feel any motion, but couldn't. He was about to give up when something hit against his hand. "Whoa," he exclaimed with a broad smile, "they are really kicking."

With his hand still on her belly, Luke looked up into Jadie's dazzling green eyes. "You know, we still have to come up with names for the babies. Have you thought of any?"

"No," Jadie said sadly, turning away from him. "You already want to name the boy Owen and I don't know any good girl names since I have been stuck on this testosterone-filled military base all my life. I don't have any family to name the girl after," she lamented.

"Well," she added a few moments later, "no family except Mara but I don't plan to name our little girl after her."

"Understandable," Luke agreed quickly, wanting to get off the subject of Mara.

Jadie must have sensed his discomfort and decided to add to it.

"After all," she said wryly, "I don't think I could ever bring myself to say something like, 'Luke, please give Mara a bath and bring her to bed.'"

Luke, who had just then had decided to try one of Jadie's Bimmell berries choked on the fruit and had to spit it out on a napkin. "Uhh…" was all he could say.

"And the first time I hear you say, 'Come here Mara sweetie, sit on Daddy's lap and give me a big kiss.' I think I will have to kill you," she added, trying to not laugh, but failing miserably.

"I am glad you are able to joke about it," Luke said relieved.

Jadie shrugged her shoulders, "Ahh, well, Dr. Bentu told me I needed to keep a sense of humor," she hesitated in a moment in thought, "how about your Aunt Beru?"

"What? Name the baby after her?" he asked as he made a face, "Umm… to be honest, I never liked the name. It was an old Tatooine family name and a rarely used one at that."

Jadie shrugged, "What about your mother?"

"My mother?" Luke asked.

"Yes, why don't we name the baby after your mother," Jadie clarified.

Luke shook his head, "I don't know the name of my mother."

"What?" Jadie exclaimed, "and why not?"

"My adopted parents said they didn't know who my mother was," Luke explained.

"How about Obi-Wan or Yoda?" Jadie asked.

"They never mentioned her," Luke replied sadly.

"Did you even ask?" Jadie questioned incredulously.

"Ummm…" Luke mumbled, realizing he never questioned Yoda or Obi-Wan about the identity of his mother.

Jadie threw her hands up in frustration. "Oh that is just typical," she was completely irate now. "Your poor mother endured being pregnant with twins and who knows how many hours of labor. She then had her children taken from her and secreted away, and not once does her son- a son for whom she sacrificed so much for- ask his old mentors about her identity!"

"I had other things on my mind," Luke replied defensively. "My aunt and uncle were murdered, we barely escaped Tatooine alive, it never crossed my mind to ask Ben."

"Okay, how about when you were training with Yoda or all those times you saw Obi-Wan as a Force apparition, couldn't you take 30 seconds to ask them, 'Oh, by the way, do you know who my mother was?' I am sure old Ben Kenobi could take a moment out of his Force phantom schedule to answer that question."

Luke was flustered, "I don't think it is easy for Ben to appear to me, otherwise I would imagine he would have shown up and said something while I was kissing my sister on Hoth!" Luke shot back then turned red when he realized what he had said.

"What?" Jadie asked puzzled.

His old crush on his sister was the last thing he wanted to discuss with Jadie, especially since it was obvious that she was still in a foul mood. He needed to defuse this situation quickly and the best way that he knew how. Grabbing his wife around her large waist and pulled her up to him, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. When they broke apart they were both breathless; Jadie's anger with her husband fading considerably.

"The doctor said you should stay in bed as much as possible these last few weeks. Come on, I'll join you," Luke whispered seductively.

"Luke!" Jadie squeaked as she tried to squirm away from her husband. "The doctor also told me I was to have complete pelvic rest."

Luke gave her his most pouting look possible, but then broke into a broad grin. "To sleep Jadie, I am well aware of the restrictions… painfully aware sometimes."

After leading her to the bedroom, Jadie changed into a nightshift and used the 'fresher. Luke helped her into bed and to find a comfortable position on her side. Stripping down to his briefs he snuggled up against Jadie's back and pulled the covers over them, reaching around with his real hand to gently caress her belly.

He loved times like these, holding his wife, feeling her warmth in his arms, his Force essence mingling with hers and the babies. Even with Jadie's shifting moods, Luke was still deliriously happy with his lot. He had a beautiful wife and soon he would have the family he always wanted, but Luke couldn't shake the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that his ideal life would soon start crumbling out from under him.


	9. Chapter 9

For the next two weeks Luke instructed Jadie on healing trances and techniques to control and reduce pain. He reasoned that if the Pathfinder training was as mentally and physically demanding as Dr. Bentu described, she would need all the recuperative knowledge as possible.

Luke was still wary about Jadie participating in activities that could be dangerous to her health, but figured that the galaxy being destroyed by hostile alien invaders was also bad for one's wellbeing. There was no use fretting over the matter now that Jadie knew of her potential gifts as she would do everything in her power to try to cultivate her prophetic abilities. She would not only want to protect the galaxy, but her family and nothing he could say would change that.

Splitting his time between instructing Jadie on Jedi skills and his research of the Outbound Flight logs and datacards that survived the crash, the research had taken on a new meaning now that his mission with Jadie was clear. Perhaps some of the journals would give him insight to Jedi training methods he was unaware of.

Luke and Ensign Connor were in his office examining a datajournal and cataloging the personal effects of a Jedi Master Ma'Ning when a priority call came in from Corsucant. He went over to Communication unit and initiated the codes to connect him to a secure outside line.

"Skywalker here," he said wondering if it was his sister or Mara trying to hail him.

"Hey, Farmboy," the redhead on the other line said warmly.

"Mara," Luke answered as a smile spread across his face. He was about to ask his friend what warranted this call when he felt a flash of anger coming from across the room. Glancing up to see his assistant glaring at him, the young man quickly looked back at the datapads, feigning interest in the journals. "Just a second, Mara," Luke said and pushed the mute button on his comm. "Ensign Connor, is there a problem?"

The young man looked unsettled, "Umm… no sir, why?"

"I sensed you are irritated with me," Luke explained calmly.

"Umm… sorry sir, I was hoping we could get through with this by noon… I am meeting somebody for lunch," he said in an apologetic tone.

Luke stared at him for a moment, sensing that Connor's story might be disingenuous, but he couldn't be certain. Although he and the other men at the base were not Force sensitives, Luke had found them hard to fathom. It was as if they had been instructed in shielding their thoughts. Their technique wasn't perfect, but it made determining their sincerity exceedingly difficult for the Jedi Master.

"I am not sure how long this call will take, Connor," Luke said truthfully, "Go ahead and go to lunch, and be back at the normal time."

"No, I can stay and finish up," the young man insisted.

"No, no go," Luke replied while making a shooing motion with his hand. "I would like to take this call in private anyway."

Connor starred at Luke for a moment, but then after a nod of his head, rose and exited the office.

"Sorry about that Mara," Luke restored communication with his friend, "what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to give you a heads up," Mara answered as she pulled a couple of wayward strands of hair behind her ear, "you sister is hosting a major banquet/ball in three weeks. I figure that is right around the time Jadie gives birth, so you may want to figure out an excuse before Leia gives you a call, or has she contacted you already?"

"No, she hasn't called me," Luke replied with a thankful nod to his head. "Since she has my transmission codes, I assume your meeting with her went well."

Mara rolled her eyes. "As well as can be expected. She was relieved that your disappearances were research related, but she wasn't very happy that you are on Nirauan. After a bit she accepted it and, to be honest, well I got the impression that she had thought you were still moping about over Callista," Mara's voice took on a bitter edge when she mentioned Luke's old flame. "I guess she assumed you had become a bitter, celibate hermit over the years," Mara snickered, "boy is she going to be mad when she finds out the truth."

"Oh yeah," Luke sighed apprehensively as he rubbed his forehead. "I am planning on telling her and Han on my next trip to the core. I don't want to tell them over the comm."

"You better," Mara warned. "The longer you keep this a secret from her the worse it's going to be for you."

"I agree," Luke nodded. "Jadie is not due for two more weeks, but with twins there is a chance of them arriving early. I may be able to make my sister's function, but thanks for the warning in case the delivery is delayed or there are complications."

"How is Jadie?" Mara inquired. "I hope I didn't hurt her too badly that night."

"She's fine," Luke assured his friend as he unconsciously rubbed his jaw. "We're both fine."

Mara chewed on her lower lip, "I wish I could have met her under different circumstances," she glanced down and then back up to the screen hesitantly, "I've been thinking about it and I realized she is the closest thing I have to family, probably the closest thing I will ever have. It would have been nice to get to know her."

Luke fidgeted in his seat, "I am not sure if Jadie will want that, Mara. I told her about my proposals to you in the past and she didn't take the news well."

"I can imagine," she gave a sardonic laugh. "Well, if she ever changes her mind, you know where to reach me. You will send me holos of the children, wont you?"

"Of course," Luke said with a smile, "you're family."

"Family," Mara smiled in return, "I like the sound of that."

"You and Jadie are related by blood. Once I married her, you became a part of my family, Mara. Before that you were my best friend, I hope that never changes."

"Never," Mara replied emphatically.

"I hope…" Luke heard his Comlink beeping, "just a moment." He activated his comm. "Skywalker."

"You better get to sickbay, Commander," came the excited voice of Dr. Bentu, "Jadie's gone into labor."

"On my way!" Luke shouted ecstatically as he clicked off the comlink. "Gotta go, Mara," he shouted as he unceremoniously disconnected the line and out of his office toward the medward.

Despite his faithful adherence to his Jedi exercise program, Luke was out of breath by the time he made it to the medical facility.

Jadie was lying on a small bed in a makeshift birthing room; her rear scooted down to the edge, knees up, feet in stirrups; a small sheet covering her, tenting over her knees. Sweat was already running down her face as she grimaced in pain. As Luke entered the room he found Jadie's young male Obstetrician, Dr. Yeneew, instructing her in a low, soothing voice to breathe in slowly through her nose and out through her mouth.

"I know how to breathe you kriffin' moron," Jadie shot back, "what I need is something for the pain!"

Luke went over to Jadie's bedside and took his wife's hand encouragingly, "Jadie, honey, lets go over those pain reducing meditative techniques I have been teaching you."

The redhead glared at her husband. "When you are the one with your legs in the air and trying to push two humans out of your body, both the size of a Pattaki Melons, then you can use all the blasted Jedi techniques you want! But since I am the one having these babies I want pain reducers!"

Another contraction hit and Jadie groaned in pain. "Can I push yet?"

The doctor reached under the sheet and did something out of Luke's line of sight.

"Don't push yet," Dr. Yeneew instructed, "You are only at eighty percent effacement and eight centimeters dilation. It won't be long now."

"Those pain relievers!" Jadie wailed as another contraction hit.

Doctor Bentu entered the room holding an injection gun. "I have five units of Proliodynol," Bentu turned to the other doctor, "do you want me to give it to her now?"

"If that is a pain reducer, yes, shavit, I want it now!" Jadie shouted.

Luke leaned over to his wife and said softly, "Jadie, are you sure you don't want to try this naturally?"

Jadie turned to him with a look of utter disbelief. "Luke, if you ask me that again, I will take your lightsaber and cut off all protruding parts of your body—including the part that got me into this predicament," she hissed venomously, "and when I do, you can handle the pain naturally!"

Giving a resigned sigh, Luke refrained from further comment, but he cautiously shifted his belt around so his saber was out of his wife's reach, just in case.

Dr. Bentu rolled Jadie onto her side and injected the medicine at the base of her spine. Immediately she relaxed, the tension easing from her face and posture.

Dr. Yeneew positioned himself once more between her knees and checked on her condition. "We have total effacement and dilation is at ten, on the next contraction, Jadie, we want you to bear down and push for the count of ten." The doctor shifted his gaze to Luke. "Commander, when she starts pushing you do the counting for her."

Luke nodded his head nervously. Jadie reached up and grasped his left hand, her eyes gazing up at her husband anxiously. "We are going to be parents," she said giddily despite the pain.

"I can't believe it either," Luke admitted excitedly.

At that moment the next contraction hit, Jadie's grasp on Luke's hand tightened and he made a mental note to switch over to his prosthetic limb when she eventually loosened her death grip on him.

"Push," Dr. Yeneew instructed, "count, Commander."

"One, two, three, four, five, six," Luke counted off slowly.

"Sithspit, count faster!" Jadie screamed at her husband.

Dr. Bentu laughed and shook his head. "He's counting just fine, Jadie."

Labor continued for what seemed to Luke to be an eternity until finally Dr. Yeneew called out, "I see the head! One more big push!"

Luke extracted himself from his wife's painful grip so he could move in a position to see the baby being born. He stood there frozen in place by the sight-the head of the baby was already out and the doctor was rotating the child to free two perfectly formed shoulders from its confines. "It's a boy," the doctor announced as he wrapped the newborn in a clean towel, snipped the umbilical cord and handed the now wailing baby to Bentu. "One down, one to go," Dr. Yeneew said enthusiastically.

"Owen," Luke whispered proudly as tears of joy rolled down his cheeks. "He's beautiful Jadie," he called out to his wife proudly.

Jadie's only response was a scream as the contractions started building again. A few moments later Dr. Yeneew had another baby in hands as Jadie lay exhausted on the bed, eyes closed and breathing heavy.

"It's a girl," Luke said excitedly to his wife as he kneeled next to her. "Have you thought of a name?"

"No," she said exhausted, "have you?"

Luke thought for a moment, the last couple weeks he had been mulling over a few names, but hadn't made a decision until now. "How about Jemma?"

"Why Jemma?" Jadie asked suspiciously.

"It is a variation of Jem, she was a student of mine who died saving my life. I think it would be a fitting way to honor her sacrifice."

Jadie considered it for a moment, allowing the name to flow over her tongue. "Jemma… that sounds perfect, Luke."

A broad smile stretched across Luke's face as he went to look at his two children who were being washed and examined by Dr. Bentu.

The doctor had swathed Owen up tightly in a small blanket and was beaming down at the baby like a proud grandparent. "They both have blue eyes, but that can change. They both look like they have strawberry blond hair, but that can also change over the years." He handed Owen over to his father, "They both appear healthy though. Congratulations, Luke. Go ahead and show Jadie, I will bring over the girl when I am done."

Luke nodded happily and returned to his wife. "Jadie, this is Owen," he said as he held the child next to his wife.

Tears were flowing from Jadie as she reached over and gently caressed her son's face, "Hello Owen," Jadie whispered softly. Dr. Bentu brought the second baby over to Jadie and carefully placed the child it her mother's arms. "Hello Jemma," she smiled brightly, "welcome to the Skywalker family."


	10. Chapter 10

For the remainder of the afternoon, Luke stayed by Jadie and the twins' bedside. Dr. Bentu, an experienced father, having three boys and a daughter, patiently showed Luke how to properly hold a baby and all the tricks of changing diapers fast and efficiently.

Luke, to his chagrin, had yet to perfect his diaper changing technique. Twice he had to change his shirt due to Owen's inexplicable need or desire to relieve himself right at the exact moment that Luke opened up his diaper for changing. This always prompted laughter from his wife.

Of course, Jadie wasn't laughing for long as she discovered that breastfeeding wasn't quite the inborn female instinct she once thought. To her horror, the elderly doctor had to spend twenty minutes instructing her on positioning the baby properly and the appropriate latch and detach technique used during feedings.

The Jedi also proudly showed off his children to the dozens of EOH soldiers and staff members who heard of the news and dropped by to congratulate the happy couple.

By the end of the day, both Luke and Jadie were exhausted. Finally they were able to get both babies to sleep at the same time and Jadie wasted no time in joining them in slumber in her medical bed. Luke decided to go back to their quarters to get some shuteye as well but Dr. Bentu accosted him in the hallway as he was about to leave.

"Where do you think you are going?" he asked sharply.

Luke gave the man confused look as to why he would even ask that question, "Home, to sleep."

"Oh no you don't," Dr. Bentu said as he wrapped a powerful arm around Luke's shoulder and steered him down the hall in the opposite direction of his suite. "You have been here long enough to know the New Father tradition," the old man stated with a chuckle. "Once informed of the birth of a child, the new father is required to put one weeks pay on the bar in the Officer's Club so we can all properly congratulate him."

"Dr. Bentu, if everybody is there to congratulate me, why do I have to pay for the celebration?" Luke asked.

"Listen, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them, and call me Jase tonight. No titles."

"Okay, Jase," Luke complied to the old man's wishes.

Dr. Bentu guided Luke to the Officer Club and as they entered a loud hurrah sounded from the dozens of men milling about the bar.

"See," Dr. Bentu said, "everybody is here to celebrate the arrival of the newest father on Nirauan."

'More likely they are celebrating the arrival of their free drink ticket', Luke thought dryly.

Jase and Luke made their way to the bar where Luke authorized the spending of one weeks pay in free drinks, which considering his standing, was quite a few. After procuring a couple alcoholic beverages for themselves they made their away to a quiet corner booth so they hear themselves talk over the din of the club, not that they were able to have an uninterrupted conversation for the first hour or so. Luke was constantly deluged with well-wishers and questions about the new babies, not that he really minded.

People were also steadily bringing fresh drinks for the new father. Never having been a heavy drinker, Luke was carefully nursing his second drink, but Jase was not so restrained and had drained about four of the beverages intended for Luke. The Jedi had to shake his head and laugh. Dr. Bentu was gregarious enough when sober, but after a few drinks you couldn't shut him up.

"I'll tell ya," Jase had an almost imperceptible slur, "In those last years with the Emperor… he was a insufferable jerk. I can't believe he shot me with Force lightning. That was completely uncalled for," he said as he shook his head heavily. "Really, it wasn't my fault that the Palpatine clones were less than perfect. I can only work with what I am given with. Do you have any idea what ionizing radiation does to the human body?"

The doctor didn't wait for Luke's answer, "It causes genetic mutations! But what does the Emperor have in his Death Star throne room? A reactor core exhaust shaft! What fragging genius thought of that? Palpatine was exposed to so much radiation that he was lucky he didn't end up with clones with three heads!" the doctor exclaimed while waving a hand in front of him for emphasis.

"Okay, so one of the Palpatine clones that he transferred into had some minor… ahh… bodily control problems? They have undergarments for that. I mean it wasn't like he wore tight pants that people would have known. He wore those gaudy black robes all the time… even in the summer!" Dr. Bentu's said with a smirk, but then yawned widely as he leaned back into his bench seat. It appeared he had more to say on the matter, but slowly the doctor's eyes closed and he fell silent.

Luke waited for a moment, "Dr. Bentu, are you all right?"

The doctor's eye's snapped open as he sat up straight, "You know what I should have done?" he continued as though there was no lull in the conversation. "I should have manipulated Palpatine's DNA samples so his clones were afflicted by impotentia coeundi," the doctor only slightly stumbled over the medical term.

"His concubines hated him anyway," the doctor muttered and then shuddered at the thought.

"And if he had a problem with that I would have said, 'ohhh…omnipotent'," he stressed the word, "'my mistake, I thought you said you wanted to be impotent'." The doctor laughed at his own joke and took another swig from his glass.

"Doctor… Jase," Luke corrected himself while laughing, "maybe we should get you back home."

"No, no," the doctor waved him off, "I'm not drunk. Well, I may be a little tipsy, but I am mainly tired. Jadie came in to the clinic right as I was coming off my shift, but I want to celebrate. This is a very special day for me also," he said enthusiastically. "You stay here, I just need to hit the 'fresher."

With that Jase got up and shuffled to the back of the club. Shortly afterwards a young man wearing freshly starched civilian clothing slid into the booth seat that the doctor had vacated.

"Hi, I am Ensign Tamas Bayard, I work with base security. I just wanted to congratulate you on the birth of your children, Commander," the man said while extending his hand to Luke. The Jedi grasped the offered hand and smiled, but he couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that he had met this man before.

Luke closely examined the stranger's face. He had coarse, ruddy hair, light skin, piercing hazel eyes, with a small hairline scar running down his left cheek. Overall, he was a typical EOH soldier as far as Luke could tell, but he somehow seemed familiar.

"Thank you, Ensign." Luke said cordially, trying to pinpoint the cause of his unease.

"Ah, I see you have met Ensign Bayard," Dr Bentu boomed as he slid into the booth seat next to the man while reaching over giving him a one armed hug. The doctor then brought his other hand up and grabbed the man's jaw. "Isn't he one handsome lad?" he asked as he not so gently turned the man's head from side to side so Luke could get a good look at his face.

Luke raised his eyebrows and contemplated dragging the apparently intoxicated Dr. Bentu back to his quarters forcibly before he assaulted anyone else.

"He's my grandson," the doctor informed proudly, "my daughter's boy."

"Oh," Luke said, now realizing why the man probably seemed familiar and explaining Bentu's behavior, "it is a pleasure to meet you Tamas,"

"The pleasure is all mine, Sir. You know, I really envy you, Commander," Tamas said, "you are so lucky to have your wife here. Me, I probably will never find a girlfriend until I am finished with my tour on this dirt ball planet. The quarterly R&R leave we are given just isn't long enough for me to find a woman to start a lasting relationship with." The man turned to his grandfather and gave him a wryly grin, "What I need is for my grandfather to make me a clone just like yours."

Luke felt the wave of revulsion rolling off of Dr. Bentu even before he saw all the color drain from the old man's face. Jase Bentu slammed his drink down on the table and faced his grandson, "That is never going to happen, so don't you ever ask me that again!"

The young man scooted away from his grandfather in shock. "I was just joking granddad." He then turned to Luke nervously, "I apologize, I didn't mean to offend you sir."

"No offense taken," Luke said quietly as he observed Dr. Bentu. He had realized it was just a simple joke, not to be taken seriously, but Bentu didn't seem to think so which was curious.

The doctor seemed to realize he had brought the attention to himself, "It was rude, boy." He quickly glanced to Luke and then back to Tamas, "Don't you have some security matters to attend to?" The doctor asked as he stood up to make room for his grandson to leave.

"Uhh, yeah…" Tamas said apprehensively as he moved out of the booth. "Congratulations again," he said to Luke as he quickly left the premises with a confused backward glance.

Sliding back into the booth, Bentu made a couple furtive glances in Luke's direction, all the while trying to appear nonchalant. The act didn't fool Luke; the good doctor was nervous—but about what?

Luke once again thought back to his initial unease when he saw the young man. He sucked in a breath and sat back in his chair in shock. "Your daughter's son?" he said accusingly.

The doctor rubbed a hand down his face. "I think you are right Luke, I think it is time for me to get home."

He went to stand, but Luke stood and shoved him back into his seat. "I thought he looked familiar. There was something about his looks and his presence in the Force that I recognized. You made a clone for yourself… your daughter."

"Yes and no," the doctor admitted reluctantly.

"What do you mean?" Luke demanded.

The old man sighed heavily, his shoulders slumped. "I didn't make her for me. I wanted to test my theory on the source of Force sensitivity," he said and then glanced up to Luke. "You know the one where I thought it was caused by a virus."

Luke nodded quietly.

"About a year after I made Mara, Palpatine approved the creation of a new clone, but this time I introduced anti-viral drugs into a DNA tissue sample from the original before continuing with the cloning process. The result was astonishing. A perfectly formed little girl, that had absolutely no Force sensitivity." The doctor paused to call over a waiter and order a cup of caf.

"It looked like I might have been right," he continued, "the cause of the mutations might be viral, of course I couldn't be certain without further study. It could have just been a random event. As I have said before, it was not unusual for Force sensitivity to fluctuate greatly from one clone to another. I talked to Palpatine about this and told him that, if I was correct, I thought it was possible to increase Force sensitivity exponentially in the next clone by simply muting its immune system temporarily while in the cloning chamber. I hypothesized that this would allow the infection to run unabated and create a clone with a midichlorian count that hasn't been seen since…" the doctor stopped in thought, "well, since your father."

"What did Palpatine have you do?" Luke asked.

"He didn't want me to proceed until I was sure it would result in a Pathfinder." He stopped and gazed at Luke, while chewing his lower lip, "I think I scared him. I was proposing to make a clone whose power could possibly equal or exceed his own. Soon after this, Palpatine cancelled the Pathfinder program altogether but he wanted me to test my theories on another subject… him. He authorized me to take DNA samples from him and begin to make multiple clones in preparation for any unfortunate accident that might befall him." The doctor's caf arrived. He thanked the waiter and then quietly sipped the hot liquid.

"So, now you were making Palpatine clones instead of Pathfinders. In the meantime, you were able to keep the forceless clone," Luke said softly.

The doctor nodded, "I asked Palpatine if I could raise her as my own and he agreed since he had no use for her as a Hand, but he didn't want to destroy her… something I don't really understand considering his nature, but for which I am eternally grateful." The doctor said as his eyes glazed over with tears.

Luke was confused, "How come Tamas didn't recognize Jadie as looking just like his mother?"

"As I told you before, I have been making subtle changes in the DNA codes to alter the appearance of the clones, enough that the various clones could interact with each other in public without calling undue attention to themselves."

"What about Mara and Jadie?" he asked.

"I guess I should have done the same for Jadie, it probably could have made life a little easier for you, but I honestly thought she would always remain in Chiss space, so why bother?" he gave a shrug and then looked up to Luke with a concerned face. "Please, don't tell my grandson," Dr. Bentu pleaded with the Jedi, "even his mother doesn't know and there is no point in her knowing, she has no Force sensitivity at all."

Luke's head was spinning and it wasn't from the alcohol. "I won't tell him," he assured the doctor, "but I really have to know, are there any more surprises that I should know about?"

The doctor tensed visibly as he shifted in his chair.

"Umm… well, there is one more thing," the doctor said flustered.

"What!" Luke asked, astonished that there could be more, and bracing himself for the answer.

"When I made Jadie, I finished my experiment I started 40 years earlier. I muted her immune system during the gestational phase," he hesitated and then continued, "I don't know if you noticed, but her midichlorian count is so high it is off the charts."


	11. Chapter 11

Early the next morning Luke returned to the medward to check in on his family. When he arrived Jadie was sitting up in bed, quietly nursing Jemma while Owen slept soundly in the small crib next to her.

Jadie raised a slender eyebrow and gave Luke a lopsided grin, "I am surprised you are up this early in the morning," she teased playfully, "from what Dr. Yeneew told me I thought you and Dr. Bentu would be sleeping off your hangovers for the rest of the day."

"Ohhh, I am sure Dr. Bentu is," Luke answered with a smirk, "fortunately, he drank most of the shots aimed in my direction."

"That is mighty nice of him to sacrifice his liver to save yours," Jadie chuckled, then gave a roll of her eyes.

"You are not mad that I left you last night, are you?" Luke asked worriedly as he sat on the edge of her bed and gently stroked Jemma's soft reddish-blond hair.

"No, I knew it was coming," Jadie admitted.

"And you didn't warn me?"

"No, because I knew that if I told you, you would find a way to dodge it and that wouldn't be good," she shook her head. "These men live for their celebrations. If you avoided the party they would have felt cheated."

"Oh," Luke nodded slowly, "well I am glad I went then, even though it cost me a fourth of my paycheck."

"Just feel luckily that they didn't demand a week's paycheck per baby," Jadie commented dryly, hiding a grin poorly.

"Oh, I'm sure if Dr. Bentu have thought of that he would suggested it…" he paused then added, "and probably drank the extra weeks worth himself."

"Somehow," she leaned back and got more comfortable, "that doesn't surprise me."

"Yeah," he said lowly, remembering the conversation he had with the inebriated man. "I have something to tell you, Jadie. It's about Dr. Bentu's experiments."

She met his eyes slowly, "Tell me what?"

Luke calmly explained to his wife what he discovered the night before—the midichlorian experiments leading to the Forceless clone adopted by Dr. Bentu and his wife, that the clone's son was Tamas Bayard, and how Dr. Bentu had seemingly increased Jadie's midichlorian count during the cloning process.

"Okay," Jadie said slowly, drawing the word out, "I think this whole situation has gone from being strange to something completely bizarre."

"I know, it is a bit much to absorb," Luke admitted.

"I can't believe Dr. Bentu kept one of the Clones as his own daughter," she said shaking her head. "And Ensign Bayard is her son? Ohhh, that is really disturbing, he used to ask me out all the time before you and I met, and now I find out he is technically my nephew. Now I know why Dr. Bentu just about had a conniption when he found out."

Luke glanced sharply up at his wife, alarmed, "You didn't ever…uhh…" he trailed off not knowing how to phrase his question.

"No," Jadie said emphatically, "Dr. Bentu kept me on a short leash around here. He made sure I always had a chaperone, which drove me crazy."

"Oh… good," he was relieved, the thought of Jadie having an intimate relationship with a person who technically was her nephew gave him the shivers. He almost didn't notice Jadie's eyes hardened, and he realized his wife most likely misinterpreted his comment. "I mean good that you and Bayard didn't…ummm…you know. I don't mean good about the short leash thing."

Luke fumbled an apology, but secretly he was relieved that Dr. Bentu had acted like a strict father with Jadie. During their short, whirlwind courtship Luke never asked Jadie about any other men she might have dated, and, to be honest, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know, seeing that there was definitely no shortage of possible eager suitors on base. Later, after they married, he refrained from asking Jadie about past relations so not look the part of a jealous husband.

"So my midichlorian count is high," Jadie interrupted Luke's thoughts, "but, if I have so much force potential, wouldn't you have noticed it by now?"

"I did notice that you were strong in the Force," Luke admitted, "but I never fully appreciated how strong. You see, you are almost equal to Mara's abilities so I didn't think much of it, but I forgot to take into account that Mara has been instructed in the ways of the Force for decades, and here you are, training for only two years and you are close to being on par with her. It really is amazing," Luke couldn't combat the tinge of awe in his voice.

"But I have yet to see visions of the future," Jadie remarked as she gazed down at their daughter whose blue eyes were beginning to droop as she finished her morning meal.

"Not yet, but you may once we concentrate our training in that direction." Luke replied confidently. "Doctor Bentu told me to wait a few weeks to begin the meditative exercises, to allow you recuperate from the birth and bond with the babies."

Nodding her head in agreement, Luke could sense through their growing Force bond that she was eager, but at the same time a little bit apprehensive about the training.

"Don't worry Jadie," Luke assured his wife, "if the meditations become too dangerous we will stop."

"I shouldn't worry about it anyway," Jadie said slowly, looking away from Luke, "If I was a Pathfinder, I probably would have know by now. I may just be another in a long line of Dr. Bentu's failures."

"Jadie," he reached out and caressed her cheek, "you are anything but a failure."

He didn't like it when his wife slipped into one of her depressed states, which, unfortunately, occurred frequently during this last trimester of her pregnancy. The doctor said they were normal mood swings caused by fluctuating hormones, but they bothered Luke who desperately wanted to uplift her spirits. He gazed lovingly at his wife and children, then, he squared his shoulders, coming to a decision on a course of action he had been avoiding too long.

"Jadie, I talked to my sister last night after I got back from the Club. Leia needs me to attend a formal diplomatic function that she is sponsoring in three weeks." Luke moved to grasp his wife's hand. "Why don't you come with me, you and the kids, and meet the family."

Jadie stared at Luke in shock, then skepticism, "Do you mean it?"

Luke smiled, "Yes, I want Leia and Han to meet you and the babies."

She broke out in a broad smile, but then it faltered. "Luke, you haven't even told your sister about my existence yet, have you?"

Dropping his eyes to the floor, "No," he confessed, "I haven't and I don't want to do it over the Holocom."

Shaking her head, "I think that it might be too much of a shock for Leia," she replied softly. "Why don't you go to the function and tell her first, and then we will join you on the next trip or she can come here. I really don't want to take the babies on such a long journey so soon after they were born."

Perhaps it was best to wait until the children were sleeping through the night before embarking on such a lengthy trip. "Alright," he said reluctantly, "you are probably right."

"Good," Jadie answered with a smile as Jemma finished her feeding. Gently she handed the baby over to Luke. "Can you burp her for me?"

"Sure," Luke smiled as he took his tiny daughter into his arms. "Hello Jemma, how is my little princess?" he asked softly as he maneuvered her to his shoulder and started patting her back gently.

"Don't forget to put a cloth on your shoulder, Luke," Jadie warned, but it was too late, as a soft, wet belch was heard and Jadie grinned broadly. "You are having one heck of a time, Farmboy, either you are being peed or spit up on."

Luke smiled, unperturbed. "That's okay Jadie, it comes with the territory. Before we know it they will be grown and moving out of the house leaving us old folks at home to remember these special moments."

"Old," Jadie laughed, "speak for yourself, when they move out of the house I will just a little older than you are now. You don't consider yourself old, do you?"

Luke's smile faltered, he never considered himself old, but twenty years from now he will be swiftly approaching senior status while Jadie would just hitting her prime.

Luke's change in mood didn't go unnoticed. "Luke, I was joking." Jadie assured him. "I am sure in twenty years you will be a very young and sexy 60 year old and we will be growing old together in a galaxy at peace."

"Sure," Luke managed with a smile. It did sound perfect, and he could only hope the future held such a hopeful prospect.


	12. Chapter 12

It was a major adjustment, being a father, but it was one Luke embraced wholeheartedly. Jadie and the babies were allowed to return to their family quarters after a couple days, so Luke had rearranged the furniture in the bedroom to hold two little bassinets while making a mental note to ask if there was a larger apartment available for his family, one possibly with two bedrooms. Luke doubted that there was, since the base was not designed for families, but it didn't hurt to ask.

It was difficult getting any sleep with Jemma and Owen waking up every few hours during the night. Jadie and Luke soon learned to sleep when the children slept; otherwise they would never get any shuteye. Luke had been told not to worry about work or training for the next couple weeks and just enjoy his time with his family.

In truth, he was ashamed to admit that he almost wished he could go back to his office under the pretense of working just to get more than an hour of uninterrupted sleep. But he knew he would never do that; he would feel too guilty. He would just have to get by using Jedi trances to refresh himself.

He had been interrupted during one of those trances by a fitful Owen. Jadie and Jemma were napping, so Luke took the fussy boy to the family room, rocking him softly in his arms trying to lull him to sleep also.

As he held Owen he stared in awe as the baby's tiny hand curled around one of Luke's fingers. Owen's pale blue eyes gazed up at Luke and gave him a look that made his heart melt. Luke realized that he had seen and experienced some of the most remarkable events to happen in the galaxy during his lifetime, but none affected him like the birth of his children.

Releasing his father's finger, Luke reached over to gently stroke his soft cheek, his touch immediately prompted a rooting reflex in Owen. "Are you hungry Owen?" Luke asked as the baby had turned his head and tried to suck on Luke's hand.

"I think I have some milk for you in the cooling unit," Luke told him softly. He went over to the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of milk that Jadie had stored earlier. Heating the bottle and checking the temperature he offered it to Owen who started feeding greedily.

"You have your father's appetite, I see," Luke chuckled.

He sat down on the couch to feed Owen, relaxing deep into the soft cushions as Owen nursed quietly. Luke looked down on his son and smiled, his children were perfect and the greatest gift ever given to him. They both had chubby cheeks and the most beautiful smiles, although he was told newborns didn't know how to smile yet. Jemma's eyes were gradually turning from her original color of blue to one with specks of green, whereas Owen's eyes looked as though they may remain the same as Luke's.

It was during times like these that Luke thought about his parents. He assumed that his father was not around for his birth since the Sith Lord appeared surprised upon discovering the existence of his sister. Luke knew Yoda and Obi-Wan did the right thing protecting him and his sister from his father and Palpatine, but it still saddened him to think that his mother and his father may have never experienced any of these precious moments with their children.

Mostly, Luke wondered if his mother once cradled him in her arms and sung him to sleep like he enjoyed doing with his children, or did his mother put Leia and Luke into hiding immediately after their birth? Considering that she never came forth after the Empire fell, he could only assume she had died at some point during the years, but did she ever know what became of her children?

Owen soon drained the bottle and Luke laid the baby over his knee and gently patted his back until he heard a soft burp. Luke smiled and cradled his son in his arms, rocking him softly. Owen's eyes were becoming heavy and started to droop when an awful scream came from the master bedroom startling both father and son into full alertness.

At first Luke thought Jemma had woken up crying, but he soon realized that it was an adult scream, Jadie was shrieking hysterically. Luke immediately jumped off the couch, prompting startled cries from Owen, so Luke gently placed him down on the carpet and then ran to the bedroom.

When he entered the room he found Jadie sitting up in bed clutching the bedcovers to her chest. Her eyes were wide and had a crazed look to them that seemed to bore right through Luke. Jadie was wailing loudly, but Luke's attention was drawn to Jemma who was also crying. His daughter appeared unharmed lying in her bassinet, but she was greatly upset by her mother's hysterics. Running over to his wife, grabbed her shoulders and tried to calm her down.

"Jadie, wake up," Luke hollered at his distraught wife. Her eyes were open, but he had the distinct feeling that she was not awake or at least aware of her surroundings. "Jadie, you are upsetting the babies!"

Jadie stopped screaming for a moment and turned to look at Luke. There was a brief flicker of recognition, but then her eyes clouded over again as she extended her arms and forcefully pushed Luke away from her, both physically and with a powerful Force shove. Luke felt like a speeder hit him as he was flung off the bed and slammed against the wall, making a large hole in the plaster and knocking a number of holopics off the wall.

Reaching up and cradling the back of his head he felt a large lump forming. If he had any doubts as to Jadie's Force potential they disappeared after that impressive demonstration, but things were getting out of hand. Jadie was either having a waking nightmare, a seizure, or some sort of psychotic episode. Either way, it was becoming dangerous for the children.

He rose quickly, scooped up his sobbing daughter and moved her to the living room next to Owen.

"I need a medic team at the Skywalker suite!" he called frantically into his comlink, then switched off and made a second call, "Connor, I need you in my quarters, now!"

Connor, who lived only a few doors down the hall, was the first to arrive. The young man rushed into the room to find Luke in the living room trying to comfort the twins as a horrible wail came from the bedroom.

"What the hell is going on?" the young man asked wide-eyed.

Luke didn't answer immediately, shoving the two crying babies in Connor's arms. "Get the children out of here, Connor, Jadie is having some sort of seizure or psychotic breakdown. The medics are on their way, but I need you to take care of the kids for me while I try to calm her."

Ensign Connor nodded nervously as he shifted the twins in his awkward embrace. Luke grabbed a couple bottles out of the cooling unit and placed them in a diaper bag and slung it over his aide's shoulder by the carrying strap. "Take them to your quarters where they will be safe. It is too dangerous for them here."

"Yes sir," Connor said anxiously as he backed towards the door. "Is she going to be alright?"

He glanced back to the bedroom where she was still screaming hysterically, "I just don't know."

Nodding nervously, Conner rushed out of the apartment and hastened down the hall with the children.

Luke turned back to the bedroom door and approached cautiously. He drew heavily on the Force and braced himself for another attack as he crept back into the room. Jadie screams had started to subside, being replaced by mournful sobs.

"They're dead," he heard her cry, "they're all dead."

"Jadie," Luke called out tentatively as he peaked through the doorway.

Jadie's head snapped up. "They are all going to die," she sobbed, "you, the children, everybody on Corsucant, entire worlds!"

Cautiously working his way up to Jadie, he prepared to defend himself from another Force assault. "Jadie, it was a dream," Luke assured his wife hoping in his heart that was the truth.

She looked away, visibly shaking in terror, then burying her head in her hands and sobbing loudly. "No, it wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare… a nightmare that is about to become reality."

Luke cautiously sat down next to his wife and embraced her around her shoulders, rocking her gently as he ran a hand slowly over her long red hair. "Shhhh…" he said softly, "it's alright, it's going to be all right."

Jadie's head fell limply against Luke's chest, her eyes heavy. "There is something out there, Luke, shadowy figures, monsters. They will come and they will kill… there is so much death… so much death." Her body shuttered and then went limp.

He reached up and placed his hand on Jadie's forehead and eased her into a healing trance just as two of Dr. Bentu's medics arrived. Despite his reassurances that she would not be any trouble, the medics opted to sedate her as a precautionary measure. They then quickly loaded the unconscious clone onto a repulsor sled and began the trek down to the Medward with Luke following closely behind.

"What happened?" Dr. Bentu was waiting in the emergency ward when they arrived. He quickly hooked Jadie up to a variety of medical equipment to monitor her condition.

"I was feeding Owen in the family room when Jadie started screaming in the bedroom," Luke answered as he brought a shaky hand up to feel the lump on the back of his head. "She was hysterical, but when I tried to talk to her she just about shoved me through the bedroom wall."

"Are the children alright?" Dr. Bentu asked concerned.

"Yes, they were fine. A little startled, but not injured." Luke replied unsteadily. "When I first went into the room it was like she didn't know who I was. She was awake, but didn't seem aware of her surroundings. Could it be a seizure or some sort of breakdown?"

"I won't know for sure unless it repeats itself." Dr. Bentu looked over the sensor readout of Jadie's heart rate, pressure, and brain activity. "I don't see any unusual brain activity now. It could have been a simple partial seizure, they are identified by the body twitching and paranoia behavior…" he thought for a moment, "was she sleeping when this occurred?"

Luke nodded his head, "I think so. She was sleeping when I left the room."

The doctor rubbed his hand over his chin, deep in thought. "It could simply be parasomnia or night terrors. Patients who suffer from this often appear in an anomalous twilight state—not quite awake, but not asleep, it is often accompanied by extreme paranoia, panicky screams and often, hypnagogic hallucinations."

The doctor turned to Luke, "what was she saying?"

Luke sat down on a chair hugging the far wall and reached out with the Force to try to recall all the details. "She first said the children and I were dead. She then went on that they all dead, Corsucant, entire worlds… we all die. She talked about shadowy figures intent on murder." Luke looked at the doctor with haunted eyes, "Could she be seeing the future?"

The doctor's knees became weak and he leaned against the Emergency room wall. "A pathfinder," he whispered in awe as his eyes went wide.

"How can that be, why now?" Luke asked.

"The maternal brain," he whispered, "that must be it."

Luke shook his head in confusion, "What must be it?"

The doctor didn't answer but returned to Jadie's bedside to check her monitors again. "The maternal brain is a term we use for the changes that happen to a woman during and after pregnancy."

"Changes?" Luke was trying to wrap this all around his own brain.

"When a woman becomes pregnant there is a whole array of chemical and hormonal changes that occur in her brain to prepare her for motherhood," the doctor explained. "Some of these chemicals are released in large amounts only at childbirth such as oxytocin." Dr. Bentu gazed at Luke with a stunned expression. "Perhaps all of those years when we thought we failed to produce a Pathfinder, all they needed to do was have a baby. Postpartum hormone fluctuations may be the trigger," his voice gave away the unspoken 'of course'.

Luke put the pieces together. He knew that human bodies undergo changes throughout their lifetime, some at almost set times like puberty, and others when drastic changes occur. If the Force was linked to the virus in the body, then or course it would change too with the body, adapt, and perhaps unleash previously locked abilities.

"Did Mara ever have a baby?"

"Uhh, umm…" Luke stuttered, thrown off by Bentu's question, "not that I know of."

"It would be interesting to test this hypothesis," the doctor rubbed his hand over his gray hair, "but I suppose Mara would be adverse to the suggestion that she become pregnant. Preferably fathered by you since you are a variable I would like to keep the same."

Luke blinked.

"Ah… no I don't think either one of us are up for that particular experiment," Luke replied tersely, "and I am sure Jadie wouldn't approve."

The doctor sighed, "I didn't think so, but it would be nice to see if the results could be duplicated."

"How about your daughter," a thought came to Luke, "she had a baby."

The doctor gave him a dismissive wave of the hand. "She has no Force sensitivity, that's why I didn't use her DNA to make Jadie."

Luke shook his head in disbelief and with some irritation at Dr. Bentu's attitude toward his clones.

"Did you start future meditations already?" the doctor asked.

"No," Luke sat back in his seat, "you told me to wait."

"As soon as she is discharged from here, do so," the doctor ordered. "I wanted to let her recover from delivery, but she needs to learn how to control these visions, if that's what they are."

"Of course," he agreed with the doctor that if Jadie didn't get this under control, she would become a danger not only to her family, but to herself as well.

Jadie slowly regained consciousness about an hour later. To Luke's great relief she was calm, although a bit confused as to why she was in the Medical clinic.

"What happened?"

"Jadie, honey, you woke up screaming, we had to sedate you," he answered as he grasped her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Do you remember anything?"

She furrowed her brow in concentration, but then her eyes went wide and she gasped. "The kids," she looked around the room frantically, "where are the babies? Are they all right?" She cried out as she tried to pull the sensors off her body so she could get out of bed.

Luke reached out and grasped her hands, preventing her from leaving. "Jadie, the babies are fine. Connor is looking after them in his quarters," he reassured his wife who visibly calmed and sunk back into the bed.

"It was awful, Luke" she whispered, "so much death and destruction. There were some blurry figures, I couldn't see clearly, but they came out of the shadows; killers, entire legions of warriors who want to cleanse the universe of all indigenous sentient beings in our galaxy." She closed her eyes, then continued, "I saw our children, they were barely toddlers, torn from my arms and butchered… sacrificed… and I couldn't stop them… it was like I couldn't use the Force at all." She started to shake and tears threatened to overrun her eyes.

Luke sat down at her bedside and wrapped her in a soothing embrace. "Jadie, it'll be all right. We'll find a way to stop them. No one will hurt our children."

"So you think it is a vision?" she asked frightened, "and not a dream?"

Luke paused, "I… I'm not sure, Jadie," he gave her another reassuring squeeze. "If it is a vision of a possible future, we will make sure that one doesn't come to pass."

"What if we can't?" Jadie asked, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

"We will, Jadie." Luke said confidently. "You are not the only one to have visions. I have seen glimpses of the future. I see our children becoming Jedi and us growing old together. So there must be at least one future where this happens. We just have to find it, and make it a reality."

Jadie nodded silently and buried her head into Luke's shoulder. "I hope you're right Luke," she mumbled softly, "I hope you're right."


	13. Chapter 13

Soon after Jadie's frightening episode, Luke started her training, albeit slowly. The first order of business was trying to control the appearance of her visions. They didn't want another horrifying prophetic dream to invade Jadie's sleep again.

Fortunately, it only took a few days for Jadie to master some control over the clairvoyant images that assaulted her the first night. After obtaining that milestone, she spent the next couple weeks attempting to separate the various futures she was seeing. At first the visions she observed were a montage of swirling dark images full of blood and death, many loathsome with the death of trillions assaulting Jadie's senses. The trances completely drained all energy from her and Jadie found she couldn't go for more than a few minutes without having to stop.

Occasionally she saw glimpses of a future where there wasn't a galactic war. In that future she could see Luke and two children she assumed were Owen and Jemma. The children were laughing and playing with their father. These brief glimpses of a happier time to come always encouraged Jadie to continue on. But it appeared to be one possible blissful future hopelessly entangled among dozens of dark, brutal and horrifying possibilities.

"I think we should try something different," Luke said to Jadie as they finished one particularly long meditative session.

Jadie leaned back on the soft grass of the reflection gardens Luke had constructed a year earlier as a quiet and out-of-the-way place to do Jedi training and meditation. It was outside the base perimeter, nestled in a tranquil valley forest, with a small stream running through. Jadie liked the gardens for their privacy and quiet serenity. It was the best place to meditate alone but still be surrounded by life—the thousands of animal life forms hidden in the trees and bush. "What do you have in mind?"

"Let's try the skill of picking a future and making it occur."

Pushing up on her elbows, Jadie cocked her head to the side and gave him a quizzical look, "How do you intend on doing that in a meditative session?"

"I was thinking that I will have you try to look into your future but only an hour forward," he explained, kneeling down next to her. "Try to pick apart the various futures and separate them, then I want you to decide on a particular future. Once you've done that, try to back track and pinpoint the key actions that initiates that future."

"How do I know what is a key action?" Jadie asked confused.

Luke thought this over for a moment, "Well, I guess what you can do is find two futures that are very similar and then back track between the two and see where they differ. The difference might be the critical event," he explained, "then initiate the key action and see if the future you want to occur happens."

Nodding, Jadie brought herself into a cross-legged meditative posture, sitting even closer to Luke now. While he had been paying only attention to her training, her red hair bouncing softly in the breeze and the sun glowing against her skin made him remember one of the reasons he fell in love with her. She was just so beautiful, but he dare not touch that flower right now, this exercise was too important.

Jadie relaxed and let the Force flow through her, going through the meditate steps the Jedi Master had taught her. Eyes closed and breathing slowly, she struggled to free her mind of all thoughts, tensions and worries. She felt the Force flowing through her as it reached an inner balance, a harmony between mind and body.

Slowly she started to see flickers of movement in her mind's eye. Painstakingly she separated the various futures, following each line only out about an hour's time. She found this lesson much less stressful, as the future lines were easier to separate. She found it analogous to separating machinery power cords. When all the cords are short, it is much easier to untangle them than if the cords were long and hopelessly intertwined. In addition, she didn't have to struggle with the emotional trauma she experienced in her other meditative sessions, since her futures an hour out were not filled with death and destruction.

She grinned widely. No, her short-term futures were not bad... bad at all.

Picking two similar future possibilities she backtracked to see where they differed finding the two key actions that defined each event. Deciding on which particular future she wished to initiate, she slowly she brought herself out of her trance.

She awoke to the sight of Luke, still sitting across from her, smiling.

"How long has passed?" she asked.

"Not long, only about 15 minutes," her husband answered. "Did it work?"

"I don't know," she moved up onto her knees and started to crawl over to him, "I guess I will have to initiate what I think are the key actions and see what happens."

Luke couldn't help but look down her now gapping shirt, it had been too long since he had been treated to such a display. "And what actions would that be?" he asked hoarsely.

Jadie didn't answer, but leaned forward and captured his lips with hers in a gentle kiss.

He closed his eyes and surrendered to her kiss, wrapping his hands around her rear and drawing her down on his lap. Deepening the kiss he felt a familiar ache as she straddled him. When he finally pulled away to breath he grinned mischievously at his wife.

"Hmm..." he said playfully, "I wonder what future you picked out for yourself?"

"No fair if I tell you," Jadie replied breathlessly, "it would ruin the experiment."

"Well," he mumbled as he showered kisses down her neck and shoulder, "I don't want to interfere with your research." But then Luke stopped, a worried look on his face, "Jadie, umm.. should we be doing this so soon after you giving birth?"

"It's been two weeks, I've underwent bacta treatments and I have been putting those Jedi healing trances you taught me to good use," she said with a wink.

Luke grinned, standing and pulling Jadie to her feet. "Come on, let's get out of the clearing. I don't want an overhead flight spotting us."

When they made it to the woodline Luke wrapped his arms possessively around his wife, gazing at her hungrily admiring her long luscious red hair and her beautiful smile. He let his hands move down the side of her body gently tracing her sensuous curves. He loved the way post-pregnancy suited Jadie, her once thin body now filled in nicely with generous curves to her hips; her breasts were now full and inviting.

"You are beautiful," he whispered as he pulled her toward him kissing her passionately. "Never leave me," he begged this beautiful woman.

Jadie laughed softly, "I won't... at least not in the next hour." She gave him a grin, "I have use for you, Farmboy."

"Oh you do, do you?" Luke asked innocently, the fire burning behind his darkened orbs. It had been too long for both of them.

"Yes," Jadie whispered, "I have foreseen it."

About an hour later the two returned to the gardens, dropping down on the soft grass, trying to catch their breath.

"Jadie, it had been too long," Luke said breathlessly as he turned on his side propping himself on an elbow, "but, did your experiment work? Did the future you decide some into fruition?"

Jadie turned to him and grinned, the setting sun sparkling in her vivid green eyes. "Oh yeah," she said her tone oozing with satisfaction. "Exactly how I saw it."

Luke laughed, "So what were the other future possibilities?"

"Oh we made love in all my short-range futures," she said matter-of-factly.

"Jadie," Luke sighed exasperated, "if all the futures are the same, then we don't know if it works or not." Not that he really was disappointed with the outcome.

Jadie laughed at Luke. "We made love in all the futures but only one particular future had you doing that little trick you did at the end."

Luke blushed, "And that was the future you picked?"

"Oh yes, I wasn't going to miss out on that." Jadie grinned mischievously.

"You are a devilish woman, Jadie," Luke kissed her gently, holding her close. "I guess you truly are a pathfinder. But, you know, Dr. Bentu told me the only way we can prove a theory is by repeating the experiment over and over again and ensuring you get the same results."

"Dr. Bentu is the expert," she said slyly, "I don't think he will mind watching the babies a little longer, perhaps we should repeat the experiment."

"Anything for the advancement of science," Luke whispered as he gave his wife another gentle and lingering kiss.

The next day Luke was in his office catching up on some of his research on Outbound Flight when his door indicator buzzed.

"Enter."

Dr. Jase Bentu entered Luke's office, his face a cool, unemotional mask, but Luke could sense he was suppressing a mixture of emotions: unease with a tinge of amusement.

"What can I do for you, Doctor?" Luke asked.

"Oh, nothing," Bentu said as he plopped himself down in Luke's lounge chair uninvited. "I just visited my grandson. He is doing a fine job over in the security office... well," he corrected, "I guess I should say he has been doing a better job since Admiral Parck practically chewed his head off for allowing a certain former Imperial assassin to stroll into our facility undetected."

"I am glad he is... doing well," Luke said tentatively, not sure where the doctor was going with this conversation.

"I don't think Mara will be waltzing into our facility undetected any more," the doctor waved off. "A couple days after her unauthorized entry Tamas ordered a new state of the art Perimeter Intrusion Detection System that this old outpost was severely lacking. There are now Electro-mechanical security sensors placed on all exterior fences, Xitowave motion detectors, and a few pre-clone war buried pressure plate sensors. In addition, he added over 50 additional static holocam monitors on the perimeter, and 10 heat seeking hovercams that patrol the outer perimeter." The doctor paused for a moment, giving Luke time to digest the information.

Luke was still confused as to why the doctor was telling him this. Did he blame Luke for Mara's break in?

"Luke," the doctor said in a serious tone, "do you know how hard it is to maintain moral on this base?"

Luke was thrown off by the curious change of subject. Shaking his head, "No, I don't know, but I am sure you are going to tell me."

"It is _very_ difficult," he stressed the word very. "Most of the men here are long range recon pilots or intelligence analysts. They either spend long hours traversing through the unknown regions on mapping and intelligence runs, or they are busy analyzing intelligence gleaned from hundreds of probes and manned sorties to the Unknown Regions. Day after day, if they are not on sortie runs, these men scrutinize the entire wave spectrum for any extra-galactic communications, they search for any anomalous activity in the unknown regions by way of optical, radio, infrared, X-ray , gamma-ray and gravitational wave telescopes." Bentu leaned forward. "They are very different jobs—pilot and analysts,-but they all have one thing in common, do you know what that is?"

"They are both searching for the threat?" Luke ventured.

"True, but the biggest similarity is that both jobs are all mind-numbingly boring!" Dr. Bentu said with emphasis. "These men are bored out of their minds and they are trapped on this planet—a one year unaccompanied hardship tour, with no towns, no entertainment and no loved ones to ease the monotony!"

Luke still couldn't figure what Bentu's point was, so he simply asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"I am telling you this because you are making a lot of enemies on this base."

"What are you talking about?" This is the first Luke had heard of this.

"I know it is not your fault," the older man sighed, "but a lot of men begrudge your existence here. You are a rebel, a Jedi, and one of the political elite of the NR, that alone can make for an explosive combination as there is still some simmering animosity over your history with the Alliance. Many of the men here lost relatives stationed on the first Death Star."

Luke always knew that regardless of how right it was to destroy such a weapon, he would never be able to completely wash himself of the guilt over committing such an act.

"Then you have to factor in you being a Jedi," Bentu continued. "Believe it or not, but not everybody respects the position. They see the Jedi as arrogant, people who are born with special abilities and through the Force, are able to accomplish things with ease, whereas us normal guys are left to struggle and try to make a life for ourselves without the almighty Force to ease the way."

About to rebut that statement, he was stopped cold by the doctor's next words.

"Let me tell you," he leaned even closer, "when you came here and within a year managed to talk the only woman on the entire planet into marrying you, the men saw it as another example of the Jedi getting everything they wanted in life with ease."

Luke shook his head, "Doctor there isn't much I can do about Jedi prejudice. I can't help how some people perceive me or the order."

"You can try not aggravating the situation," Dr. Bentu shot out as he tossed two Holochips toward Luke, them landing on his desk.

"What's this?" Luke asked.

"Surveillance data," Dr. Bentu answered cryptically. "Go ahead and look at them."

Luke gave the doctor a confused look, but took one of the chips and placed it in his holoreader. At first he was confused as to what he was looking at, the images grainy and not quite in focus, but soon the contents of the datachip became clear. Luke slapped his hand forcefully down on the stop button, a deep blush burning his face. It seemed that Luke's reflection gardens were within the EOH patrolled perimeter.

"Who has seen this?" he asked Dr. Bentu angrily.

"Only Tamas and I."

"You watched it?" Luke exclaimed horrified.

The doctor blushed and looked down at the floor. "When Tamas told me he had something for me to see, I first thought he was showing me a contraband Kuat pleasure Holo, something that is common on this base. I didn't know it was you and Jadie at first because... well, you both were facing away from the camera. But then when I realized who it was, I immediately shut off the Holo and confiscated the datachips. According to Tamas, these are the only copies." He looked back up and gave Luke a piercing glare.

"Luke, if Tamas was not on duty at the time... if one of the other technicians got their hands on this Holo, I guarantee they would have sold copies to every soldier on the base and probably would have found its way to the sludge holonet. Do you have any idea how this would have affected moral?" Dr. Bentu demanded.

"I am sure it would have made a few people jealous," Luke admitted, his face still burning in shame.

"Damn right," Bentu exclaimed, "it would have been seen as flaunting what you have. Another example of a pompous Jedi taking advantage of his elevated status."

Luke dropped his eyes in mortification, "It won't happen again," he said softly.

Dr. Bentu's expression softened, "Please see to that," he said, then motioned to the datachips, "I would destroy those if I were you."

Luke nodded, "Thank you, doctor."

"No problem," the doctor said as he rose and moved towards Luke's office door, but then turned back as if forgetting something, his stocky frame filling the doorway, "Oh, by the way, I have a question." A slight smirk crossed his lips and his eyes sparkled with mischief.

"What?" Luke asked warily.

"I was wondering if you two used the Force while... um... engaging in those activities. Because when you did that thing against the tree it looks like some levitation was involved," the doctor said while trying to keep a straight face, but then started to laugh loudly.

Luke didn't answer, but with a powerful nudge of the Force slammed the door shut. Luke sunk down into his chair burying his head in his hands, all the while he could hear Dr. Bentu's laughter ringing down the hall.


	14. Chapter 14

Two days later, Luke was ready to get off planet. True, he would miss his family terribly and he dreaded his forthcoming conversation with his sister, but at least he would have a reprieve from a grinning Dr. Bentu for a few days. The older man never mentioned their earlier conversation, but Luke couldn't help but notice the doctor's amused expression every time the man caught sight of him or Jadie.

Luke decided not to inform his wife of their unwelcome appearance on the security holos. If she knew, Luke was sure she would die of embarrassment. In hindsight, Luke was kicking himself for telling Jadie to only look one hour into the future. If he had specified one day or one week, Jadie could have foreseen the consequences of their actions and they could have at least moved their activities indoors.

Luke made a tearful farewell to his wife and children and then climbed into his X-wing. He was leaving at the last possible minute since he didn't want to discuss his family situation with Leia prior to the formal ball. He knew this was an important political function and his sister didn't need the unwanted distraction his news would cause. If he timed it just right, he would arrive on Coruscant the morning of the Ball, giving him plenty of time to shower, shave and change for the official function. He hoped it would not be enough time for Leia to track him down and begin her interrogation as to what exactly he was doing on Nirauan. Luke would break the news to Leia and Han after the get-together.

As his fighter sliced its way though the Nirauan atmosphere, Luke punched in the coordinates and then engaged the hyperdrive. Watching the stars become streaming lines flashing past the fighter canopy, Luke slowly brought himself into a Jedi relaxation trance. He needed time to think and prepare for his impending confrontation with his sister.

.

.

Luke touched down on Coruscant far later than he expected. Unfortunately, the ten-system Smashball championships were being played on planet that weekend and the resulting snarled ship traffic delayed his landing clearance for hours. Eventually, he was given permission to set down in a crowded docking bay with no further incident.

As he exited his X-wing, he glanced at his chrono and made a quick mental calculation. He just had enough time to get to his apartment, shower, change and make it to the banquet reception in time. Fortunately, this particularly ostentatious political function was taking place in the main ballroom of the old Imperial Palace where Luke and the Solo's maintained apartments.

After struggling through Coruscant's crowded public transit system for almost an hour, Luke barely made it to the party before the reception line was concluded.

When he arrived, his sister, Han, and a line of minor dignitaries were greeting the last of the party guest stragglers. Luke smoothed out the wrinkles of his black formal dinner jacket and braced himself to be chastised for being late.

"Hello, Leia," he said warmly as he took her hands in his and then leaned forward to give her a kiss on the cheek.

He was relieved that Leia didn't appear too perturbed by his late appearance. "I am so glad you were able to make it, Luke," she said warmly.

"Well, I couldn't let Han have all the fun," he replied with a grin.

The Corellian feigned a smile as he fidgeted in his highly starched dress uniform. Han hated political affairs with a passion, and he especially dreaded when he had to dress up to entertain.

"Thanks for showing up, Kid," he said in his usual cocky drawl. "Maybe after we eat you can do a Jedi mind trick and make everybody think I am here mingling and laughing at their pointless jokes, while I sneak back to the apartment and watch the Smashball tournament."

"Han Solo," Leia said sternly. "I'd better not catch you sneaking off or hanging out in the kitchen again watching the game with the waiters."

Han put on his most affected innocent look. "Would I do that?"

"Well, since that is where I found you when this reception line was supposed to start, I would say 'Yes' you would do that."

Luke laughed. "Don't worry Leia, I will keep an eye out for any escape attempts." He went to move down the line but Leia caught his hand and pulled him back, her demeanor more serious this time.

"We need to talk when this is all over."

Luke looked into his sisters deep brown eyes and merely nodded 'yes.' They would have a lot to talk about.

.

.

After the banquet, most of the guests retired to the dance floor. Luke, preferring not to dance, stood over on the sidelines talking with Han as Leia mingled with the guests.

"You know kid, you really have your sister worried," Han mentioned quietly.

"I know Han," Luke sighed and slumped his shoulders. "It won't be long before I return for good. My research shouldn't go on much longer."

His brother-in-law gave him a knowing look. "I know what is going on," he said quietly, "you know, and it has nothing to do with Outbound Flight."

"What do you know?" Luke replied flatly, trying not to look surprised or guilty. He knew Han too well; he was using his old gambling ploy to get Luke to reveal his Sabacc hand.

"Wedge told me what happened with Mara," Han whispered with a look of concern.

Luke groaned inwardly. Having Han know that he had proposed to Mara was going to make his confession about his wife and family just that much more uncomfortable.

"You didn't tell Leia, did you?"

"Nah, I figured if you wanted her to know you would tell her." Han reached up to pull his stiff uniform collar from chaffing his neck. "You can't hide out at the edge of the galaxy trying to avoid a certain redhead forever, Luke. You need to get back into the game, live a little. Meet some women, take a few out for a test flight, if you know what I mean."

"That sounds like the voice of experience," Luke answered dryly.

"Before I met your sister, I suppose I took a lady or two out for a spin around the galaxy," Han shrugged. "You should try it, Luke. You have been flying solo too long. It's not good for your controlstick not to get real flight time.  Simulator training is just not the same."

"Simulator training?" Luke laughed, "Han, what are you talking about?"

The older pilot just gave his is patented lopsided grin. "Doesn't matter, but I do have to warn you, Leia may not know about Mara, but she is positive that all your woes are female related." Han looked up and saw his wife swiftly approaching their location. "Speaking of which, good luck kid."

With that, the Corellian smuggler made his exit leaving Luke to face his sister who was pulling along a young, slim woman with long brown hair and dressed in the wardrobe common of the Core's political elite.

"Luke, I would like to introduce you to Lady Beldorian of Chandrilla."

Luke bowed his head politely as he shook hands with the comely lady.

"I told Lady Beldorian you would be thrilled to give her the next dance," Leia continued.

"Of course, Leia," Luke said with a tight smile.

Glaring at his sister, he guided his partner out to the dance floor. The Lady Beldorian was very charming, but Luke only listened to her conversation half-heartedly. He longed to be home again with Jadie in his arms, to hold her tight and smell the sweet fragrance of her favorite perfume. As soon as he finished dancing he hoped to retreat to some quiet corner of the dance hall but, to his dismay, Leia had another female dignitary lined up for him.

After his fourth partner, he became somewhat exasperated with his sister's not-so-subtle attempts to send eligible women in his direction. He had just finished dancing with a heavy-footed Corellian dignitary when he heard Leia come up behind him, most likely with another prospective suitor in tow.

"Luke…" Leia began.

He was tired of this charade and was about to tell Leia so, but he turned and found Leia's newest choice of a dance partner was none other than Mara Jade. Luke knew that she would be invited to this function, but he was still shocked to see her, especially since his first thought was he was looking at his wife.

"Mara," he said nervously, hoping the Master Trader or his sister wouldn't detect the surge of longing he felt for his wife and misinterpret the situation.

"Skywalker," Mara said casually.

"Would you like to dance?"

"I would love to," she answered with a grin. "Please excuse us, Leia." Luke's sister smiled at Mara knowingly and left them alone.

"Let me guess," Luke said as he wrapped his arms around Mara and began dancing slowly. "My sister probably told you that she is worried that my lack of a love life was causing me to bury myself in Jedi lore day and night."

Mara laughed. "She is close, but I know it isn't Jedi lore you are burying yourself in."

"Mara!" Luke said in shock as his face turned red at his friend's off-color remark.

"Sorry," Mara said with a smile. "Your sister appears to be on meddlesome overdrive tonight."

"I've noticed that," Luke conceded. "According to Han, she thinks my absence from the Core can be solved by finding me a woman here."

"If she only knew the truth," Mara chuckled. "I think she has had you dance with every eligible woman at this function."

"I believe so." Luke nodded in agreement. "I am worried that Leia may be starting to think that I prefer the company of men."

"Well, we could let her catch us making out on the balcony," Mara winked, "That should convince her otherwise."

Luke froze on the dance floor.

Mara blushed as it became obvious that Luke took her offhand remark seriously. "I was joking, Skywalker."

Stepping away from Mara. "You've never joked about that before," he said as he fidgeted on the dance floor.

"Luke," she pulled him back into a dance pose before anyone caught on, "I never joked about that before because you probably would have taken me up on the offer. And that was something I didn't want... at the time."

She paused suddenly, and through their Force bond Luke sensed a hint of regret and something akin to panic coming from Mara before she quickly reined in her emotions and strengthened her shields, and continued the dance.

"Things between us are different… now that you're married and not trying to convince me that we are destined to be together," Mara continued. "I thought we could go back to the way things were… the jokes, the insults, me threatening to kill you—you know, friends. But, if it makes you uncomfortable, I apologize for saying anything."

"Oh…no, no. It doesn't make me uncomfortable. I would like to get back to the friendly... or not so friendly banter." Luke said quickly, feeling slightly guilty for misinterpreting his friend's comment. Mara's explanation made sense, but Luke couldn't shake the nagging suspicion that Mara didn't really believe her own words. She was hiding something, of that Luke was certain.

Mara gave a sigh of relief and smiled. She then glanced up and saw Leia scouting out another dance partner for Luke. "It looks like your sister is lining up another victim."

Luke looked over in Leia's direction and groaned.

"Come on," Mara said conspiratorially, as she pulled Luke out to the balcony. "Let's hide out for a while. I want to hear about the kids and what's happened since I left."

They moved out to a secluded part of the large balcony and sat down on an ornate bench.

"So tell me about the kids," Mara asked.

Luke pulled a small holoprojector out of his inside jacket pocket and turned it on. There materialized an image of Luke's new family: it was Jadie, Luke and the two babies sitting together on their small couch on Nirauan. Both of them were smiling brightly as they gazed down at their newborn children. Luke flicked a switch on the projector and the image changed to a close up of a baby's face.

"That's Owen," Luke said happily.

Mara gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. Luke noticed that tears were forming in her eyes. "He's beautiful," she said softly. "He looks like his father, just look at those eyes and his tiny nose."

Luke studied the image of Owen. He could see the resemblance in the eyes, being that they were blue, but he didn't see how Owen's round, little nose looked anything like his. "I think his eyes may stay that color. His sister's were blue, but they already are beginning to change. They are getting darker, I think they may be green or hazel when she gets older."

Luke pushed the button on the device again and the image of another baby appeared. "This is Jemma," Luke said proudly, "my little girl."

"Gemma? As in a gem?" Mara asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No, as in J-e-m," Luke spelled out the word. "She was a student of mine that died saving my life."

Mara gave him an incredulous scoff. "You mean Jem Ysanna of Ossus?" Mara started laughing. "Oh, you really are too much, Luke. I hope her middle name isn't Callista."

Luke's face turned red. "What's wrong with calling her Jem?" he asked tersely.

Mara stopped laughing and looked up at Luke in disbelief. "You named your baby girl after an old girlfriend!"

"I named my little girl after a comrade and Jedi in training that sacrificed her life so that I could live," Luke defended angrily.

Mara snorted. "Yeah, a comrade with benefits."

Luke snapped off the holoprojector and stood, intending to leave. "The woman is deceased. I don't think Jadie is so petty to be jealous over a dead woman."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry Luke, sorry. Please sit," Mara pleaded, grabbing his cuff to pull him back towards her, looking genuinely apologetic for her comment. Luke stood silent for a moment, but then sat back down.

"So tell me what happened since I left." Mara gave Luke a beseeching look. "Please."

The Jedi had to laugh at how much Mara sounded like Jadie. He could never refuse anything to either of these women. "There is a whole lot to tell you. I don't know how you are going to take some of the news."

Luke then went into full detail as to Jadie's reaction to Mara's appearance, about the Pathfinder, the birth of his children, Dr. Bentu's daughter and grandson and the new, frightening visions that Jadie was now experiencing.

Mara sat silently as she absorbed the information. Finally when Luke finished she said, "So if I or any of Palpatine's Hands had gotten pregnant, he might have had his pathfinder."

"Yes," Luke replied solemnly, wondering how that would have changed the past if they did. Mara most likely would have been doling out predictions and advice to her old master and Luke and the Rebel Alliance would certainly have been slaughtered at the battle of Yavin, if not earlier.

He reached out and took Mara's hand. "Dr. Bentu believes that if you had a child there is a good chance you would gain the same abilities Jadie now has," Luke hesitated, knowing he was broaching a sensitive subject. "Umm… so I just thought you would want to know, in case… in case you want to ensure that doesn't happen."

Mara chuckled at the Jedi's discomfort. "Don't worry Luke. I will make sure I get my monthly repress meds," her smile faltered and she hesitated, "although, I am not sure I'll really need them."

Luke looked a little confused. "I know you don't know you exact age, but you're certainly still young enough to have kids."

"I don't mean that," she said harshly as she pulled her hand out of his grip, obviously upset over the suggestion. "It's just that when I was recovering in the medward after our experience on Wayland, the doctors told me they were able to repair all the external and internal damage that occurred when I was hit by C'baoth's Force lightning strike, but they were not sure how it would affect me having children. There was a good chance that the large jolt I received may have made my ova…"She stopped to rein in her emotions "…unviable."

Luke reached out and squeezed her hands. "You don't know for sure, Mara. I got hit with Force lighting far worse than you, and I now have two beautiful children," he said tenderly. "Don't give up on the hope of one day having a family."

Mara nodded her head. "Men are different from women, plus that wasn't the first time I'd been hit with that big of a jolt."

"Not mine either," he pointed out.

"When I was growing up… training," she glanced away, "every time I failed…"

He nodded silently, holding her hands and giving Mara and earnest look. "Is that the reason you didn't want to marry me?"

Mara looked away, uncomfortable with where this conversation was going, but knowing he deserved to know the truth.

"No, at least not at first," she admitted. "What happened on Nirauan was too overwhelming for me. It is not often that one suddenly knows every aspect and secret of another being. I have to admit there was an incredible pull towards you, but my mind balked at what was happening. It was too much like a Force-arranged marriage." She gave a faint smile. "And you know me, I am too contrary to be dictated to." She was smiling, but Luke noticed the smile did not reach her eyes.

"What about the second time?" Luke asked.

Mara pulled her hands from his, uncomfortable with this close contact. "The second time… it may have something to do with it. You kept telling me you saw us together with children. I knew how much having a family meant to you and I was afraid I couldn't provide it. Even without the Force lightning strike, I am getting to the age where there is an increased chance of birth defects." Her voice became tight. "I didn't want to risk it." She looked down at the floor and closed her eyes, composing herself before looking back up and gazing into Luke's eyes sadly. "Then there is the thought of me actually being a mother." She shook her head. "I am too broken to nurture a child. I mean, look who I had as a parental role model. I would be a lousy wife and mother."

"Mara, that's not true," Luke insisted. "There are some good things you learned during your time as the Emperor's Hand. You would defend any child of yours until your dying breath, and I know you would be fiercely loyal to your mate. Okay, if you are anything like Jadie, you probably would need to work on your cooking skills but, like her, I am sure you would make up for that lack in other areas of the relationship," he said with a grin.

"Luke!" Mara exclaimed while playfully slapping him on the shoulder. She smiled at him fondly, but then her gaze turned serious.

"I'm glad I turned down your proposal," Mara said softly. "It was the best thing for you, Luke. You have a beautiful, _young_ wife, a woman who's past isn't checkered like mine. You have two beautiful children who don't have to live with the stigma of having a mother who was an Imperial assassin. Your life is perfect." Mara said, her voice calm and sincere, but her eyes told a different story. Luke could sense she was hurting inside.

He never thought hearing a summary of his good fortune would make him so depressed, but it only served to illustrate how much Mara was missing. "Are you going to be all right, Mara?"

She nodded her head slowly. "I'll be okay Luke. In a way, we both gained something from this experience. I now have a sister, a brother-in-law—no wait, I forgot Dr. Bentu's daughter—I have at least two sisters, two brother-in-laws, two nephews and a niece." Mara corrected herself. "Now all I need is to get invited to some family dinners," she said wryly.

"I think Jadie will eventually come to feel more comfortable with you around. Just give her time."

Mara nodded, starting to feel uncomfortable so changed the subject. "What about these visions she is having. Do you think the future holds such danger?"

Luke took a deep breath. "I don't want to believe that such horrors are in our future, but I can't risk ignoring the predictions… especially since she sees the babies in such danger," his voice cracked with emotion.

Reaching over, Mara put a comforting hand over his. "I can't imagine how horrible it must be seeing visions of your children…" Mara stopped not wanting to say the words. The thought of such beautiful babies possibly being killed was unimaginable. "What are you going to do, Luke?"

Luke shook his head slowly. "If there is a war, I am going to do everything possible to safeguard the children," he said after some thought. "Despite Jadie's dire predictions, it must be possible to hide the children. After all, Ben and Yoda successfully hid me and Leia from Palpatine."

Mara pulled her hand back and gave Luke an uncomfortable look. "Sure," she acknowledged, but her voice hinted at something more.

"You don't think I could hide them successfully?"

Shaking her head, "No, I'm not doubting you, I just… it's nothing," she trailed off.

"No, I want to know. What are you thinking?" Luke demanded softly, if Mara had information that could affect his children's safety he wanted to know.

Mara looked away and sighed. "I just don't want you to become overly confident based on Kenobi's apparent ability to safeguard you as a child."

"What do you mean?"

She looked back at Luke and chewed her bottom lip nervously. "I didn't want to say anything earlier… I'm not a hundred percent certain, but I'm fairly sure that Palpatine always knew of your whereabouts, Luke."

Luke sat back in shock. "What?"

"Before Palpatine sent me to Tatooine to kill you, I was given a detailed mission report. It was very specific. It listed that you were raised on the planet since birth, it named your Aunt and Uncle, your childhood friends and acquaintances who you might make contact with. It was obvious that the Emperor had spies watching you for a long time."

Luke's jaw dropped in shock. "How did he find out and why didn't he move against me when he discovered where I was located?"

Mara looked down at the ground, "To me, it was obvious," she looked up hesitantly. "You were bait, Luke."

"Bait? Why would Palpatine use me as bait?" Luke shook his head, not knowing what his friend was getting at.

"Not Palpatine - Kenobi and Yoda. Your old mentors were using you as bait to draw Vader to them."

Mara stood and started pacing the balcony nervously. "I thought about this a lot after you told me about your Grandmother's journal your sister located. I wondered why, if Kenobi wanted to hide you from Palpatine and your father, did he bring you back to Vader's home planet, give you to surviving relatives, and didn't even bother changing your last name!"

Luke stared at Mara dumbstruck. He never once contemplated Ben's actions, but now that he thought about it, it was curious.

"My theory is, they knew Vader would scourer the universe looking for his child… a child, since it was apparent that he didn't know your mother carried twins. So to safeguard one baby, they hid the other in plain sight, hoping that the second child had a fighting chance of remaining anonymous. Meanwhile, Kenobi was using you to draw Vader to Tatooine, perhaps as a trap. Or maybe he thought he could turn the Sith Lord if he could get him alone."

"So why didn't Vader come?" Luke asked, being drawn in to Mara's theory.

"Palpatine probably discovered your existence first and made sure Vader didn't find out until it suited the Emperor's plans. Meanwhile, Palpatine let you grow up on Tatooine, possibly with plans of one day turning you so you could eventually replace your father as his apprentice."

The blood drained from Luke's face. It made sense, but it was a gut-wrenching thought.

"I am sorry Luke, I shouldn't have mentioned it," Mara said apologetically. "I never wanted to taint the memory of your mentors."

Luke only nodded his head numbly.

"I think maybe we should get back to the party before rumors start flying about us," she said quietly.

Luke stood. "Sure".

Mara turned to leave, but she was halted by Luke's voice. "Mara, wait."

She stopped and turned to the Jedi. Luke put his hands on Mara's shoulders as he gazed in her eyes. "Thank you for telling me. I know now that I can't be complacent in hiding the children. And I am sorry about…" Luke hesitated. He didn't want to say he was sorry how things turned out between them because it would be sending the message that he would have preferred Mara over Jadie, which wasn't the case. "I'm sorry that life is so… complicated right now. But I want you to know, you will always be my best friend, Mara. Nothing will change that." With that he pulled her in to a tight hug.

At first Mara stood stiffly with her hands at her side, but eventually she melted into his embrace and allowed her arms to wrap around his waist. They both stood embracing until the moment became awkward and they separated.

Mara glanced around nervously. "Well, I really should go."

"Okay," Luke said reluctantly.

Mara gave Luke a sad smile. "Goodbye," she said as she gave Luke a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Mara… for everything, and here…" he placed the small holoprojector into Mara's hand. "I brought an extra for you, if you will take it."

"Thank you, Luke," she smiled and then returned to the party, leaving Luke on the balcony to contemplate what was said.


	15. Chapter 15

Luke remained on the balcony for a while longer mulling over what Mara had told him, eventually returning to the party with reluctance. He noticed that the hall was considerably less crowded than when he had left and he spied Han in a corner looking bored and agitated at the same time - something that only the pilot could accomplish.

"What's the score on Smashball?" Luke asked as he walked up to the Corellian.

"Twenty to sixteen with Corellia in the lead," he answered absently, but then realized he was caught.

Luke laughed, "Next time wear an earpiece that's a little less conspicuous," he pointed to the small broadcast earphone that Han had halfheartedly tried to camouflage under his hair hanging over his ears.

"Talk about conspicuous," Han smirked as he pulled Luke's handkerchief out of his front jacket pocket and rubbed it over Luke's cheek, then inspected the white cloth. "Hmmm… that shade of lipstick looks familiar," Han's smirk blossomed into a full grin. "I guess things are looking up with you and Mara, huh?"

He elbowed Luke good naturally and Luke blushed, looking away. "We are just good friends, Han."

"Great, good friends make the best lovers," he replied.

Luke sighed. "Han, Mara and I will never be lovers," he hesitated, this was not the place to reveal his family situation, "when this is over, I need to talk to you and Leia about something."

Han frowned. "How come I am getting a bad feeling about this?"

"It is not bad, just…" Luke shook his head, "complicated." He shoved his hands deep in his pockets and shuffled his feet nervously. "I think I will take off now. Is Artoo at your apartment?"

"Right where you left him," the older man waged his finger, "and he's not too happy with being left with Threepio for weeks on end. I don't know what he is saying half the time, but I am sure it's not nice." Han cocked his head to the side and gave Luke a quizzical look. "So why couldn't you bring him to Nirauan with you? They weren't still mad about Artoo swiping a copy of the Caamas document, were they?"

Luke shook his head. "No, but it did involve information security." Luke didn't want to say that the information he wanted secured was the fact that he was married with kids. He knew that Artoo would probably tell Threepio and Luke knew it would be only a matter of hours before the protocol droid told Leia, Han and anybody else who crossed his path.

"I am going to go to your apartment if you don't mind and try to soothe Artoo's hurt feelings. When you two get back, I will explain everything that has been going on. I promise," Luke added softly.

It was plain to Han that Luke was nervous about something, about what he didn't know. "Sure kid. See you in a while."

Luke ducked out of the party and made his way back to Han and Leia's suites. Upon entering, he heard an angry mechanical squeal and he flinched at Artoo's angry retort.

"I'm sorry Artoo," he said soothingly as he gently patted the droid's dome. The small astromech droid retorted with an angry raspberry sound.

"Artoo, that is no way to talk," he admonished his mechanical companion. "Anyway, I fully intend on bringing you with me on my return flight." This comment promoted a questioning twitter. "Yes, I swear," Luke responded guessing at what the droid probably asked.

Luke took off his jacket and hung it over one of the dining room table chairs, reaching into his inside pocket to retrieve a small holoprojector and placing it in his pants pocket.

Artoo made a questioning whistle.

"I will explain everything when Han and Leia get back," Luke said with a yawn. It was a long day after a very long flight and he decided to lie down on his sister's couch and get in a little nap before they arrived. As he drifted off to sleep, his mind went over how he was going to explain all this to his sister. No matter how he presented it, he was sure he was going to face a lot of hurt feelings and anger from his sibling.

Luke woke up about two hours later as Han and Leia returned to their quarters.

Leia gave her brother a disapproving look. "You should have come a day earlier, Luke. It's ridiculous to travel days in an X-wing and then go to a party with no rest."

"I'm fine Leia," he shrugged his shoulders, "and I rested while traveling through hyperspace. Where are the kids?" He asked, changing the subject.

"They are staying with friends tonight," Leia replied as she went to the kitchen to grab them something to drink, returning with some bottled water. Luke took one eagerly, but Han waved the non-alcoholic beverage off and went over to the liquor cabinet for a real drink.

"So kid, what is this news you had to tell us," Han called back over his shoulder as he pulled out his favorite bottle of Corellian Brandy.

Luke took a long swallow of water, trying to compose himself and gather his thoughts.

"Han, Leia," he said slowly, "I have kept some things from you. I know you are going to be upset, but it's time you knew." He stopped and shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

Han noticed the change in Luke's tone and abandoned his drink on the small bar and walked over to his brother-in-law. "That doesn't sound good," he said concerned, sitting down on the loveseat across from Luke.

"It sure doesn't," Leia agreed as she joined her husband.

"Leia, I know you are really concerned about my personal life." Luke ran his hand through his hair nervously. "That became very evident today."

Leia looked abashed that her meddling was so apparent to her brother.

"But you really don't need to be concerned," Luke continued, "because there is already somebody very special in my life."

That perked up Leia who looked at Luke expectantly. "Who?"

Luke didn't say anything, but retrieved the small holoprojector from his pocket, depressing the side button. A holo of Luke and Jadie appeared floating above.

Leia stared at the projection in shock. "Mara?" she whispered, "you are involved with Mara?"

"All right, kid," Han said happily as he leaned forward and slapped the young man on the shoulder. "I knew she would come to her senses one day."

Luke frowned, his eyes downcast. "That isn't Mara," he said simply.

Han snorted. "I think I know Mara when I see her, Junior."

Taking a deep breath, Luke decided it was best to get this over with. "This woman, her name is Jadie. She's a clone of Mara… and we're married."

"What?" Leia gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

Han started to laugh thinking it was all a joke, then hesitated as he realized his brother-in-law was serious. "A clone?" he said with eyes wide. Han then did laugh… hard. "Oh boy, this is rich."

He stood and walked back over to his liquor cabinet with his hands on top of his head. "This is like a kriffin' daytime Holoshow," he laughed while shaking his head in disbelief. He turned back momentarily to gauge whether this was all a prank, the seriousness of Luke's face told him it wasn't and he started laughing again.

"Stang Luke, you are the only person in the Galaxy who can get yourself in these situations!" The Corellian was grinning despite the seriousness of the situation. "First you propose marriage to your would-be assassin, then when she turns you down, you marry her clone. And where in the Galaxy do you get a Mara clone! Hell, I know a few guys in Rogue squadron who would like to order a few… the more domesticated model of course," he added.

"You asked Mara to marry you?" This was all news to Leia. "When did this happen?"

"Two years ago," Luke admitted.

Han came back from the bar with two tall, stiff drinks and handed one to his wife who took it without hesitation. "Wait a minute, Wedge told me it happened around five years ago."

"That was the first time," Luke clarified, embarrassed, it was bad enough letting them know Mara had turned him down once.

"First time!" Leia exclaimed. "You proposed to Mara more than once?"

"Leia, Leia," Han interrupted, "you are not focusing on the important matter, like where the hell did he get a Mara clone!"

Leia nodded to her husband, still slightly confused, then turned toward Luke as she visibly tried to compose herself. "Luke, where did you get a clone of Mara?"

Taking a deep breath, "The Empire of the Hand made one to help them in their work." Luke didn't feel this was the right time to discuss the Pathfinder program. "I was asked to train a Force strong agent of theirs and it was Jadie. We ended up falling in love and I married her." Luke looked down at the ground awaiting the fallout from his family.

"Luke," his sister said quietly. "Why did you keep this from us?"

He shook his head. "I didn't know how you and the galaxy would react to the revelation. I didn't know if you could accept her and the way she came into my life… the way she came into being," he answered sadly.

"You didn't know how I would react?" she shook her head in disbelief. "Luke, you have told me more shocking things before and I don't recall becoming irrational," she said, irritated.

Leia took a deep breath and calmed herself, then got up and kneeled in front of Luke, grasping his hands. "Luke, you are my brother, how could you think I would ever disapprove of you finding love in whatever form?"

Luke immediately felt embarrassed having greatly misjudged his family. He should have known they would be happy for him.

"Yeah, come on Luke, we accepted your relationship with Callista," Han interjected, "and if we can accept that you were involved with the Force-reanimated corpse of a former student who gave up her corporeal form in a suicidal urge so it could be occupied by the spirit of a long dead Jedi whose soul was trapped in the computer system of an Imperial Space Station…" Han paused to take a breath, "well, then I think we can handle you marrying a clone," he managed to get that all out seriously, and then promptly broke out in laughter again as he went back to the bar to refill his drink.

"Han, you are not being helpful here," Leia scolded her husband, while wondering how many drinks he had at the party.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Han said as he waved his drink in front of him for emphasis, "but you have to admit Leia, things like this could only happen to Luke. I think the Force likes to mess with the kid. Think about it, first he rescues a beautiful Princess off the Death Star only to find out that she is really his sister, then he discovers the evil Sith Lord that had been trying to kill him is actually his father." Han started to count off on his fingers. "What other weird things happen around him? Oh yeah, he convinces Ewoks, can you believe it—Ewoks, to help destroy the Empire. I mean, how unlikely was that?" Han said incredulously.

"Then Exar Kun puts him in stasis for a month," he continued. "He was eaten by Waru and then spit out into some alternate dimension, and now he marries the clone of the woman who was intent on killing him." Han grinned at Luke. "One thing about you, Luke, life around you is never boring."

"Thanks," Luke mumbled, "but I am not finished." Luke clicked on a button on the side of the holoprojector and the images shifted to holos of the babies.

Leia gasped. "You have a child?" She stood up, her eyes transfixed on the shifting images.

"Children, twins," Luke corrected quietly.

"Twins! All right, Luke," Han walked up to the younger man and slapped him on the back, again.

Leia looked mortified. "How could you keep this from us?" she asked, tears glistening in her eyes as Luke felt hurt and disbelief pouring from her through the Force. "We're your family."

"I'm sorry," Luke said sorrowfully, "everything happened so fast. I wasn't thinking."

"Fast," Leia said incredulously, pointing a finger at him, "unless things are different with clones, the last time I checked it takes nine-and-a-half months to make a baby. That means you have been here almost a half-dozen times, having dinner with me and the family and you never mentioned that you were married and expecting children!" Leia's temper was rising higher the more she thought about Luke's deception.

"Now Leia," Han soothed his wife as he brought her into his embrace. "Luke has told us now, so calm down. Look at the bright side, he finally has the family you always wanted for him and he made you an aunt."

Leia nodded as she pulled away from her husband so she could wipe away her tears. "I am happy for you Luke, don't get me wrong," she said softly. "I just wish we could have been there for the wedding and births." She looked up at Luke expectantly. "So where is she? When can we meet her and the children?"

Luke smiled, knowing he had been forgiven. For the first time in a long time he felt that things were finally on the right path.

"Sit down," Luke said. "I have a lot more to tell you."


	16. Chapter 16

Luke returned to Nirauan four days later and as promised he brought Artoo back with him. The little droid tittered away enthusiastically throughout the entire flight and it wasn't until they entered Nirauan's atmosphere that the small droid fell silent.

"Artoo," Luke asked questioningly, "you're not scared to be back here, are you?"

A mournful beep sounded over their communication link.

Luke laughed. "Don't worry Artoo, things are different now. I promise they won't shoot at us again."

He landed his X-wing at his usually berth at the facility docking bay and nimbly hopped out of the cockpit. Using the Force he gently lowered Artoo out of the ship then gathered up his flight bag and started his short journey to his quarters.

"I know you may be apprehensive about being back here Artoo, but I am sure you're going to get along great with Jadie and the kids," Luke assured the small astromech.

Finally making it back to his quarters, Luke keyed the entry pad and allowed Artoo to enter first. "Here we are Artoo," he said happily, though looking around his family was nowhere to be seen. "Jadie?"

Jadie came out of the bedroom with a freshly diapered Jemma. "Luke," she said brightly as a broad smile flashed across her face.

About to embrace his wife, Luke paused as Artoo let out a frightened shrill and suddenly propelled himself backwards banging against the back wall of the apartment. Both husband and wife stared at the droid in shock.

"Artoo," Luke called to him in confusion, "what is wrong with you?" The droid spun his dome so his optical sensor was facing Jadie then twittered off a series of beeps and whistles. "No Artoo, that is not Mara!"

He looked at his wife apologetically. "Artoo and Mara don't have the best relationship, she threatened to shoot him a few times," Luke explained. He turned back to the droid. "Artoo, I told you I was married to a clone of Mara's. Her nameis Jadie."

The droid turned his dome so his sensors were facing the Jedi Master and twittered something that made Luke shake his head. "No, I wasn't joking. Now come over and say hello."

The droid tentatively rolled forward and twittered a hello. Luke smiled and then went forward to greet his family.

"I missed you terribly," Luke whispered as he softly kissed his wife. "And you," he kissed his daughter lightly on the nose. "I missed you too, my little princess." He looked up. "Where is Owen?"

"Napping," Jadie said as she motioned toward the bedroom door with a nod of her head. "I can't seem to get them both to nap at the same time."

Luke took the baby from Jadie's arms. "I'm sorry I was gone so long, love. Once I let Leia and Han know about you and the kids, they had about a million questions."

"How did they take the news?" Jadie asked concerned.

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Better than I ever expected. They… well, Leia was upset that I kept this all a secret from them. They want to come visit as soon as possible. I just need to clear it with Admiral Parck."

Jadie smiled. "I would love to see them, and you can discuss it with the Admiral today, he had left a message that he wanted to meet with you as soon as you returned."

"He could have at least gave me a day to recover from the flight," he complained as he handed Jemma back to her mother, then kissed Jadie once again. "Okay, I will be right back and, if we can get Jemma to nap with her brother, I will show you exactly how much I missed you," he said seductively as he traced a finger lightly down the side of her face.

"Hurry," Jadie breathed.

Luke kissed his wife once more and then disappeared out the apartment door.

Jemma was starting to nod off so she brought the baby back to the bedroom and placed her in the bassinet. Going back to the main living area Jadie picked up Luke's carry all and began sorting his clothes to go in the laundry. Pulling out his formal wear that he had crammed into the bottom of the bag, she sighed. _Luke really should take better care of his suit_.

She started checking his pockets before sending it out for dry cleaning and pulled a couple credits out of his pants pocket, and a wadded up handkerchief out of his coat breast pocket. She tossed the objects on the kitchen table, but then something caught her eye. Picking up the handkerchief, she slowly opened it up. Inside was a smear of red; it was unmistakably lipstick.

Jadie's hands shook as her stomach clenched at the sight, but then she shook her head, realizing it must be something totally innocent. After all, it was common for women to kiss in greeting in some cultures, wasn't it? She tossed the white cloth aside to the laundry pile dismissing it.

Gathering up the laundry she was about to do a load of wash when the Holocomm buzzed. Putting down the clothes she went over and switched on the comm unit. Instead of a face appearing on the holo there was only a written message.

**_See what your husband does while away to the Core._ **

The message disappeared and was replaced by a holovid. Jadie was not familiar with this particular gossip holoshow, but she knew of their existence. Receiving the holonet out in the Unknown Region was possible, but very expensive and as far as she knew only the most senior officers were afforded such luxury.

A scantily clad, voluptuous, blue twi'lek was narrating this particular segment.

"… _Most of the political elite spent the night dancing away at the former Imperial Palace during a flamboyant, invitation-only gala. Everyone who is anyone was there, including Coruscant's most eligible bachelor, Luke Skywalker."_

The image changed to one of Luke dancing with various women during the ball. Because of the good quality of the holo, Jadie assumed this was edited footage from an official press release.

Jadie watched her husband closely, deciding he looked more bored than anything else, until the show cut to an image of Luke dancing with a fiery redhead that Jadie knew all too well. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed that the respectful distance that Luke had put between him and his previous dance partners had suddenly disappeared while dancing with Mara.

" _Our favorite Jedi Master was seen dancing the night away with various ladies in attendance until he found a favorite, none other than the notorious Mara Jade, former Imperial Assassin turned Master Trader. The couple was seen dancing together before they decided to go somewhere more private_. _"_

The holo cut back to the twi'lek who laughed and then gave the audience a wink.

" _At least they thought they were alone. Our reporters have gathered some exclusive video which could possibly be images of Luke Skywalker proposing to his suspected long time lover, Mara Jade."_

It was obvious that the following footage was taken with a telescopic 2D lens. They were grainy and went in and out of focus repeatedly as passing speeders interfered with the automatic focus. Jadie squinted at the image as the Twi'lek reporter gave a play-by-play of the events.

" _Jedi Master Skywalker and Master Trader Jade secluded themselves on a quiet balcony, holding hands for most of the time there. At one point Skywalker hands a small object, perhaps a jewelry box, to Lady Jade which causes a surprised reaction from his lover. They conclude their secret rendezvous with a kiss."_

The twi'lek gave the camera a conspiratorial grin

" _Could wedding bells be in the future for Coruscant's favorite couple?"_

The screen went suddenly blank, leaving Jadie staring at empty space, and a burning rage rising inside her.

Luke returned to his living quarters about an hour later. As he stepped into the suite he was immediately hit by a wave of anger from his wife, and then a dish.

The stoneware plate hit him squarely on the forehead with a dull thud and drove him backwards a step or two.

"Sithspit! Jadie, what the Hell are you doing?" he screamed as pain exploded behind his eyes. He reached up to his forehead and felt something wet, blood coming from a small gash above his eye.

"What does it look like I am doing you two-timing, Hutt kriffin jerk!" Jadie screeched as she picked up a glass and hurled it toward Luke.

"Jadie calm down," he pleaded as he used the Force to stop the projectile in midair and set it gently on the kitchen countertop. He frantically looked around the room for his children but didn't see them, just Artoo rocking nervously in the corner. He reached out with the Force and found the babies sleeping soundly in the bedroom.

"Did you have another vision?" Luke asked panicked, utterly confused as to his wife's sudden change in demeanor and contemplated if he should call the medics to sedate Jadie again.

"It wasn't a vision," Jadie snarled, "but I sure got an eye full of your antics!" The angry redhead stopped throwing objects at Luke and stood in the kitchen breathing heavy, her fists clenching open and closed with rage. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, her face stained with tears.

"What has upset you Jadie, what have I done?" Luke asked confused.

This just brought on a whole new outburst from his wife.

"What have you done? What haven't you done you sithin' skrag!" She walked up to Luke and shoved the lipstick stained handkerchief in his face. Luke immediately realized what it was.

"I can explain that," he stuttered nervously.

"Maybe you can explain that, but how about this!" Jadie demanded as she went over to the holocomm and pressed the play button.

Luke's stomach dropped with what he saw.

As the gossip holovid replayed Luke could sense the building rage in his wife.

Jadie turned off the holocomm and turned to Luke, her green eyes shooting daggers at him.

"You lied to me," she hissed.

"Jadie, it is not what you think," Luke tried to explain.

"Oh really," Jade huffed, her hands on her hips. "What I think is your loving wife is spending time alone on this backwater planet, taking care of your babies while her husband is off to Coruscant mingling with the planet elite and dancing the night away with every woman who crosses his path, before settling with one Mara Jade with whom he secludes himself with on a balcony so they could have some private time together?" She glared at him. "So tell me, what part of that isn't as it seems?"

"Okay," Luke blinked, "that description may be accurate, but you have to understand that dancing with women is a required part of these political functions. I have to help Leia entertain. It is all bureaucratic business. Those women mean nothing to me. It is you I love." He went to embrace her, but she pushed him away.

"So what business did you have with Mara Jade on the balcony?" Jadie demanded.

"Jadie, I was just showing her Holos of the kids. A holoprojector is what I had in my hand, not a ring box! Her surprised look was her reaction to the sight of our children. She thought they were beautiful. Jadie, please, if you are going to come back with me to the Core you are going to have to learn how to ignore these insidious gossip shows!" Luke implored with his wife.

She didn't respond to Luke's plea, instead she stormed into the bedroom and picked up a pillow and blanket, which she threw at Luke. "I don't want you near me tonight!" she roared. "Go find somewhere else to sleep. Or better yet, go back to your precious Mara Jade."

With that she went back to her room and slammed the door shut. Luke could hear the babies wake and cry for a moment as Jadie attempted to soothe them back to sleep.

"Wow," Luke whispered to himself, "I see what Dr. Bentu meant about emotionally unstable."

Luke went over to the kitchen and washed the small cut above his eye and placed a bacta bandage on it. First he was hit by Mara and now Jadie- he was getting a little frustrated at being smacked around by the various versions of the woman he loved. He contemplated if it would be better to let Jadie cool off, but then decided that giving her time would just allow her jealousy to fester; it would be best to talk to her now.

He went to the bedroom door and rapped at it gently. "Jadie, come on out and talk to me." He waited for a response, not getting any, he tapped at the door again. "Come on Jadie, I don't want to wake the kids."

"Go away," came a soft whisper from the other side and low to the ground. Jadie must be sitting on the floor leaning against the door so Luke sunk down to his knees and leaned his head against the wooden door.

"Jadie," Luke began, "you know me. You know I wouldn't cheat on you. Why are you so angry?"

"You lied to me, Luke," Jadie said softly. "You told me that you wouldn't see her."

"Jadie, I said I wouldn't go out of my way to see her.," he sighed, "she was invited to the party by my sister." Luke reached up and placed his hand flat on the door as he tried to reach out to his wife with the Force to let her feel his sincerity. "Jadie, Mara is my friend, I was on the balcony telling her about the babies. She is thrilled at being an aunt." Luke waited for a response, but was met with silence. He groaned in frustration. "Jadie, sometimes friends hold hands and kiss each other goodbye. It was just a friendly gesture, you're making something out of nothing."

"When you told Han about me and the babies were you holding his hand and kissing him?" Jadie asked sarcastically.

Despite the seriousness of the situation he had to laugh at that particular image. "Han isn't really a touchy-feely type of guy," Luke chuckled. "I did hold my sister's hand that night and gave her a kiss. And if you noticed, Mara kissed me on the cheek. That is something a friend does, not a lover."

Jadie did not respond.

"Jadie," he tried again, "Mara is a very old friend of mine. It would tear me apart to lose her friendship, but if it is going to cost me my marriage, I will stop seeing her. I hoped you would never ask this of me, I would never make the same demand from you. I realize you don't have much experience with friendships in the short time you have been alive, but in my life- a life scarred by war and death- I have found that friendships should be cherished and nurtured." He paused as he considered what he was going to say next. "Jadie, do you want me to stop all contact with my friend? And you know she is just a friend. You know me well enough to realize I would never cheat on you."

He thought she wasn't going to respond, but eventually he heard movement from the other side as Jadie stood and opened the door. She quickly exited and softly pulled the door closed behind her so not to wake the babies.

Luke pulled Jadie into his embrace, but she just stood there, hands to her side, not returning the affection.

Pulling back he looked at his wife, her once creamy white skin was now red and splotching from crying, her green eyes puffy and brimmed with tears. It broke Luke's heart to see her in such pain. He tenderly brushed the hair away from her face with his hand. When she didn't jerk away from him he lightly kissed her on the corner of her mouth.

"Jadie, I'm not being unfaithful, you have to believe me," Luke pleaded.

"Maybe not physically," she looked away, "but there is such thing as emotional infidelity," she finally said.

"What?" Luke said confused.

Jadie didn't answer him right away, but went over to the couch and sat down. Luke followed and took the seat next to her.

"I tried to tell you before how uncomfortable I am with you around Mara. You have a long history with her, over a decade of friendship, how can I compete with that? Sometimes when we are together I struggle to think of things to say to you. I have no childhood memories to reminisce about. We are together almost all of the time so you know most of what happens in my life. It is hard to come up with interesting conversation. Whereas Mara Jade had an exciting life as an assassin, she travels the galaxy as a Trader. Compared to her, I must be boring to be around."

"Jadie," Luke said as his hand went up to the lump forming on his forehead, "life with you is anything but boring." His joke was rewarded with a brief smile from his wife, before she abruptly stood, turning away from him as he saw another tear fall.

"Sweetheart," Luke said as he rose and stood behind his wife, "as for competing with Mara… there is no competition. I love you. I love everything about you, your hair, your eyes, your very sexy body," Luke whispered as he turned her toward him, wrapping her in a tender embrace.

"All those things Mara has also," Jadie pointed out.

"Hmmm… maybe," Luke admitted as he gently kissed his wife's neck while he ran his hands sensually down her back until they rested on her backside. "But you have one thing Mara will never have… you are the mother of my children," he whispered in her ear. "You made me a father, and that makes you the most sexy and wonderful woman in the galaxy to me. It is Mara that cannot compete with you." He gently kissed her earlobe and then pulled back to gaze at his wife, giving her his most disarming boyish grin.

Jadie rolled her eyes and pushed him away playfully. "I know you, Jedi, you are just saying that to get make-up sex."

Luke gave a pout, and then a grin. "It's the truth Jadie. You have nothing to be jealous about over Mara."

Jadie turned away as she looked down to the floor. "I admit that I am jealous at your friendship with her," she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning to face Luke. "I do know about friendship Luke, and I can understand why you wouldn't want to lose such an important relationship, and to even go as far as hide things from me."

"Jadie, I wasn't hiding anything," Luke protested. "I just didn't get the chance to even tell you what happened while I was gone. I was going to tell you everything."

"I believe you…" Jadie nodded her head sadly as she wiped away her tears, "and I don't want you to stop being friends with Mara," she whispered turning to gaze at Luke, noticing the damage she caused him and frowned as she reached up and gently touched his forehead. "I am sorry for hurting you Luke, I don't know what came over me." Jadie ran a hand down her face and sighed. "I feel emotionally drained. I think the combination of the stressful pathfinder meditations and waking up every couple hours to breastfeed has overwhelmed me…and then seeing that video…"

"I understand," Luke said tenderly as he gave her a warm hug. "Jadie, lay down and get some rest, we can talk about this later. Everything will be all right," he reassured his wife.

Jadie simply nodded and allowed her husband to guide her back to the bedroom. Once his wife was comfortably in bed, Luke quickly checked on the babies, and seeing them both sleeping soundly, he quietly left them in the room to slumber.

He looked over to the Holocomm and his gaze hardened. Somebody was trying to put a wedge between Luke and Jadie, and he was going to find out who.

"Come on, Artoo," he called to the droid standing timidity in the corner of the apartment, "we have a holomessage to analyze."


	17. Chapter 17

"I'm sorry that your introduction to the family didn't turn out as well as I had hoped," Luke apologized to the small droid as he led Artoo into his office. The little droid swiveled his dome and beeped off a long string of whistles and beeps.

"What?" Luke shook his head. "No Artoo, I didn't marry a more violent and aggressive version of Mara… and even if I did, why would you think I would do it deliberately?"

The droid responded in a series of twitters and warbles. Luke held his hands up, not being able to follow Artoo's explanation. "Hook up to my computer terminal so I can read what you are saying."

Artoo rolled up and plugged into a small wall port next to Luke's desk as he sat down and flicked on his computer. "Okay, let's see what you are rambling on about, Artoo."

As Luke read the droid's response that scrolled across his monitor, he flushed red with embarrassment. "Artoo, what in the world would make you think I would be into such a… I don't even know what to call it… a fetish or a lifestyle?"

Luke read more words streaming across your screen and shook his head. "No, I don't like it rough and I don't have a thing for dangerous women! Artoo! Where did you hear such a thing?"

Artoo made a short twitter.

"Han!" Luke groaned. "Artoo, you spent way too much time with that Corellian pirate!"

The astromech made an angry retort.

"No, you're right," Luke shook his head. "It's my fault you were left back on Coruscant and 'yes' Artoo, I can imagine how frustrating it must be spending time with Threepio."

The little droid made a noise that sounded like a snort, as its optical sensor turned away from Luke in a gesture that Luke recognized as disgust.

"Don't be like that Artoo," Luke moaned as he propped his elbows on his desk and buried his head in his hands. It was bad enough that he had to soothe an angry spouse, but now he had a droid with bruised feelings. Luke really didn't need to deal with drama from an astromech when he had a much bigger problem to contend with. Somebody sent that message to Jadie to cause trouble. But who? And what was their motive?

Luke thought back to his conversation with Dr. Bentu a week ago. The doctor warned him that there was some simmering animosity against him: people who didn't like his affiliation with the Rebel Alliance, the New Republic, and the Jedi in general. Could somebody have sent the holovid to Jadie just to upset Luke's seemingly perfect world, or could the reason be more personal? Could somebody with designs on his wife be trying to break up his marriage?

Luke turned to his holocomm and pulled up the transmission that was sent to Jadie, hoping to find some clue as to its origin.

"Artoo, can you see if you can trace the transmission source of this Holomessage?"

The little droid beeped an affirmative and got to work, but soon turned and whistled at him.

"It won't let you access the code?" Luke asked realizing that operational security must have improved since the last time the little droid was on planet.

"I guess that means I have to go see the security officer," Luke sighed as he downloaded the message onto a datachip.

"You stay here Artoo, I won't be long." Datachips in hand, he made his way down to the security office.

When Luke first entered the office he could hear Ensign Tamas Bayard over at a secluded communication alcove, where he was apparently having a very animated one-sided communication with somebody.

"What are doing? You idiot!" he yelled angrily.

Luke could only see the top of his head over the cubical wall as he moved toward the young man. "Ensign Bayard?"

The young man popped his head up to peer over the partition. Luke could hear him slap the Holocomm unit off before he quickly made his way over. "Commander," he said with a nervous smile, "it is nice seeing you again." Tamas stopped mid-stride, the blood draining from his face as he realize the last time he saw Luke was on the security vids. "I… I mean it is nice seeing you in person… I mean since the New Father party," he sputtered, a look of panic flashed across his face. "Umm… what can I do for you, sir?"

Luke would have laughed at the young man's discomfort if he wasn't so embarrassed himself. Instead, he simply pulled the datachip out of his pocket and handed it to the security officer.

"Somebody sent this communication to my wife, I would like you to analyze it and see if you can determine its origin."

Tamas took the chip from Luke. "Yes sir, follow me." He walked back the way he came and entered a different cubicle with a computer and another holocomm unit. He put the chip in a slot and started typing some information into the keyboard. Over at the holocomm the message flashed into view. Tamas watched the gossip show while shaking his head slowly.

As it ended he let out a low whistle. "Oh boy, somebody sent that to Jadie?"

Luke crossed his arms across his chest and gave an audible sigh. "Yes, and I would like to know who sent it."

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard," Ensign Bayard said confidently as he typed some more information into the computer causing a string of code to pop up under the message. "You see these numbers at the bottom of the message?" he pointed to a line of letters and numbers at the base of the holo.

Luke nodded.

"Well, those are routing transmission codes. The first group of numbers is the destination code- the code for Nirauan. The second part is the code for the Ran-shok deep space booster station that serves communication needs for travelers on the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade route. The last part is the origin code. In this case it is a ship code."

"How do you know that?" Luke looked over the young man's shoulder.

"The code starts with SS, short for starship. The next letters BIMM stand for Bimmisaari where the ship is registered." The ensign explained.

Luke frowned. "So a Bimm is responsible for the message?"

Tamas leaned back in his chair. "I doubt it. A lot of ship captains register their crafts out of Bimmisaari for the tax breaks. I would say that 95 of all Bimmisaari registered spacecraft are owned by off-worlders." The young man sat back up and pointed to the last group of coding. "This last part will tell us the name of the ship and possibly who it is registered to," he pointed to the last coding which simply said JS4263. "It will take a few minutes to run that search though," he said apologetically.

He pushed the send button initiating the search and then turned back to Luke. "I doubt that this came from outside our facility though," he admitted to Luke.

Luke tore his eyes from the computer screen and gave Tamas his full attention. "Why do you say that?"

"Sir, we have some pretty impressive communication security walls protecting our computer and comm system. We don't want people slicing into the system and stealing information or infecting it with a computer virus. To slip a message into our communication lines undetected would take a top-notch slicer."

Luke simply nodded, doubting the man's boast, after all, Ensign Bayard was in charge of the outpost's perimeter security, but he couldn't prevent Mara from walking in and out undetected.

"Unless somebody already had the proper transmission security codes, I doubt they could get a message in," Ensign Bayard continued. "I think it is more likely somebody here sent the message and sliced in a bogus routing code to make it look like it came from outside the system. This base is full of people who know how to do that. It is fairly easy… but there is one problem."

"What's that?" Luke asked.

The young man shrugged. "If this is a copy of a recent holoshow, then how did somebody here get it? Only a handful of the most senior officers have access to the Core holonet."

"Who?" Luke demanded.

"Umm…" Tamas gave a nervous glance to the cubical he left earlier. "Admiral Parck, Captain Bentu, my boss- Commander Staven, and you."

Luke's eyes narrowed as he turned toward to the cubicle Tamas previously occupied and with a nudge of the Force activated the holocomm. Immediately a holo popped up of the ongoing smash-ball game on Coruscant. "And you," Luke said accusingly.

The young man turned pale. "I do admit, I have occasionally used Commander Staven's access codes to watch a game or two Commander, but, I swear, I didn't send Jadie any messages," the young man said flustered.

Luke couldn't help but notice that Tamas was on a first name basis with his wife. Could he be the person trying to disrupt Luke's marriage? Jadie did say that Ensign Bayard had persistently asked her out on dates, and he did joke to Dr. Bentu that he wanted a clone just like Jadie for his own. Plus, he had the ability to assess the holonet and the skills to slice a fake transmission code, but did he actually do it? Luke could sense that Tamas was nervous, but that might just be because he was caught accessing the net without permission. He was about to question the young man further when the computer Tamas was sitting at flashed the registered ship's name associated to code: JS4263.

Tamas turned back to his computer relieved for the sudden reprieve. "That is the name of the ship," he said hesitantly. "It will take a few minutes longer, but I could find out the owner information if you like."

Luke stared at the computer screen dumbfounded. But as the pieces of the puzzle started coming together in his mind his shock turned to anger as he shook his head in disbelief, his fists clenching in rage. "No need," he said tersely. "I know that ship."

Quickly leaving Tamas behind, and probably confused, Luke stalked down the hall, angrier than he had been in a long time. He entered his office and went directly to the Holocomm unit, ignoring Artoo's questioning whistles.

Luke tried to put in a call to the ship that Ensign Bayard identified as the source of the transmission, but he only received a _Ship out of communication range_ message, which usually meant the ship was in hyperspace. He considered leaving a message to be delivered when communication was reestablished, but then disregarded that notion.

No, this was something that needed to be handled face-to-face.


	18. Chapter 18

Luke realized that if he wanted a face-to-face meeting with the home-breaker, he would first need to locate the ship. Weighing his options momentarily, he put in another call. After a long pause, the rugged, unshaven face of Talon Karrde appeared on the comm.

The trader and information broker smiled broadly at the sight of Luke. "Luke," Talon said warmly, "what can I do for you?"

The Jedi Master took a deep calming breath. "Talon," Luke replied quietly, "can you tell me where I can reach Mara?"

"Adumar," Luke mumbled numbly after he signed off with Karrde. "Mara is on her way to Adumar."

Adumar was the closest habitable planet to Nirauan and just a quick hyperspace jump between planets. Talon said she was there on a trade run and the story was possibly legit, the NR did have trade agreements with the planet, but Luke couldn't help but be suspicious. It put Mara in a perfect position for her to quickly swoop in and comfort Luke when the bantha dung hit the fan with Jadie.

Luke dropped his head on his desk in despair. "I can't believe that Holo was sent from the _Jade Sabre_. Why would she do this to me?"

He had his suspicions, but he desperately wanted to find out the truth.

Artoo whistled a question, but Luke ignored the tiny droid. "I need to talk to her." He looked at the chrono, 2300 hours. "Artoo, how long would it take to travel to Adumar in my X-Wing?"

The droid twerped an answer of roughly three hours between planets. Luke rubbed his hand over his face as he calculated the trip. According to Karrde, Mara should be arriving on planet within the hour, so if Luke left now he should be able to intercept her at her hotel, confront her about the Holo, deal with the situation and hopefully be back by morning.

He thought maybe he should let Jadie know where he was going, but then decided against giving her the details at this time. Telling her he needed to rendezvous with Mara at her hotel room to discuss personal matters would only result in more stoneware embedded in his skull. Instead he recorded a quick holo for her saying he would be away on business until later the next day. Once he settled this situation he would let Jadie know all the details.

Luke landed at the Ordol Osh spaceport on Adumar a little over three hours later and quickly set out to find the hostel where Mara was reported to be staying. When he had approached the planet he was careful to shield his presence from the former imperial assassin. He wasn't sure why he did so, other than he thought he would be more likely get the truth out of her if he caught her unprepared.

Going over every detail of what Mara had said or done over the last few weeks Luke desperately wanted to think his friend was incapable of this type of contemptible action, however, Mara's behavior was suspect and too many pieces were beginning to fall into place.

About a half-hour later, Luke arrived at Mara's door, still heavily concealing his Force signature, but still able to sense Mara inside the hotel suite moving about, probably preparing for bed. Luke stood in front of her door, steeling his nerves for the upcoming confrontation. After a moment he let out a slow, shaky breath and pushed the door indicator button.

As he heard the buzzer sound on the other side of the door he could sense Mara's hesitation and then her reaching out with the Force toward him trying to determine the identity of her caller, but his shields were like durasteel.

"Who's there?" a voice demanded from the other side of the door.

"It's Luke," he responded while struggling to remain calm. Now that he was here, on the same planet with Mara, his anger once again began to manifest.

There was another pause and Luke realized that because his shields were up she doubted his identity. Slowly Luke forced himself to relax and lower his mental barriers just enough for her to confirm his identity.

"Enter," he heard her say and he palmed the entry panel. The door silently slid open and he quickly stepped into her room. Mara was standing a few feet from the door wearing a soft cotton robe over a clingsilk nightshirt. Luke couldn't see her blaster, but he could sense she was tense and prepared for a fight.

"Stang Skywalker, you had me on edge," she said visibly relaxing at the sight of Luke. "I had no idea who was calling on me at this hour and you felt... different in the Force. Why are you shielding?" Mara asked as she quickly moved past him to lock the door. Turning back to look at the Jedi she frowned as hard eyes glared back at her.

"Luke," Mara asked hesitantly, "what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You know what's wrong!" Luke quickly closed the distance between them, his anger getting the best of him.

Mara's eyes went wide as he grabbed her upper arms, holding her in place. "Why did you do it Mara?" Luke asked her forcefully.

"Do what?" she asked as she quickly twisted out of his grip.

"You know what," Luke spat. "You sent Jadie a copy of a Holo gossip show that said you and I were lovers, planning to marry. They even had Holos of us on the balcony during Leia's party."

"I did what?" she shook her head as she backed away from the Jedi.

Luke cut the distance between them again, "Why did you send it? Why are you trying to break up my marriage?"

She stared at him slack-jawed, but he soon felt a burning rage rising up in her as her fists clenched and her body tensed. Through gritted teeth she said, "How dare you accuse me of doing something so despicable."

"Oh please," Luke scoffed. "You can't possibly deny it was you after practically dragging me out onto that balcony." Luke accusingly grabbed her by the elbow forcing her to remain facing him. "While we were dancing you asked me if I wanted to go out there to make out with you. Oh, that would have been perfect, wouldn't it, knowing that you had spies on the next rooftop recording all our actions. Nice touch with the kiss though, Mara, not enough to make me suspicious, but enough to get Jadie all worked up," he let the accusations flow, Mara listening to every word, "You set me up! And here you are on Adumar! Did you think Jadie would dump me and then you could quickly hop over to Nirauan to console my broken heart?"

Stopping to take a breath, he gave the woman a moment to speak, but all she did was say slowly, "You... are crazy."

"I'm crazy?" Luke practically spat the words. "You're the one trying to undermine my marriage, the holo was traced to you!" Luke's grip on her arm tightened slightly as his eyes narrowed and his voice fell an octave. "You're trying to break up my marriage to get me back, aren't you? You realized you screwed up, you see me married with a family and you now realize what is missing in your life and you desperately want it... and you want it with me!"

He gave her a moment to retort, but she simply stared at him with a mixed face of incredulity, sadness, and perhaps a little fear.

"What happened, Mara?" he shook her again as if that would give him the answer he needed. "Did you finally admit to yourself that you love me- just like I said you did all those years ago? Did you?" he kept shaking her. "Admit it! It's true isn't it!"

He knew he was yelling irrationally now, but he couldn't stop. Mara quickly grabbed his arm and twisted him around, pushing him away from her. "I can't believe after all we have been through together that you can stand here and accuse me of betraying you," her voiced was strained and Luke could see the pain in her eyes when he turned back to face her. "I'm used to people not trusting me, expecting the worst from me, hurting me," she glanced down at her arms and he knew he left bruises, "but I never thought it would ever come from you, Skywalker."

Silence settled between them and Luke became horrified at what he had just done. It was wrong and teetering on the DarkSide, but wasn't his best friend trying to destroy his marriage?

"I thought you were different," her words came softly, "you were the man who trusted me even when I had a blaster to your head and swore to kill you. You trusted me, and what surprised me the most is I trusted you—even as far back as Wayland." Mara gave one of the reminiscing smiles that was both happy and sad at the same time. "I will always remember you offering yourself up to C'baoth in exchange for my freedom. Only hours before that I was begging you to kill me instead of letting him have me, and then there you go volunteering for my worst nightmare... to save me." She glanced over at him sadly. "Nobody had ever done anything like that for me before." She walked forth to face him, anger, hurt and sadness etched on every line on her face. "After all our years of friendship, how could you think I would _ever_ try to hurt you?"

"People hurt the ones they love all the time." Luke said simply, knowing what the facts said, but also what his heart told him.

" _Love_?" Mara laughed caustically. "So it comes back to that? You want to know if I _love_ you?" Her eyes narrowed questionably. "I'm curious, Skywalker, are you here to see if I sent the holovid to your wife or for some other reason?"

"What other possible reason could I have?" Luke asked defensively.

"I don't know, Luke, you tell me," she let her arms fall dramatically to her sides, "All I know is that you appear to be much more concerned about _why_ I did it instead of _if_ I did it."

Luke shook his head, "I _know_ you did it, I just want to know why."

"No, you are here because you somehow got it into your head that I love you, and now, after I turned you down repeatedly, your fragile male ego wont let you rest until you forced a confession from me." Mara forced out sharply, bitterly. "You want to know how I feel about you... if I _love_ you? Fine, I'll tell you the truth."

Mara paused, running a hand through her thick red hair as she visible composed herself. "Luke, when I sought you out on Nirauan it wasn't just because your sister asked. It was because I missed you and my..." Mara hesitated for a moment before proceeding. "and my feelings for you had started to change. I don't know if it was love, but I was willing to... explore that possibility."

"Is that why you did it?" Luke asked numbly, his anger had burned away during Mara's confession and was now replaced by a cold ache in his heart. "You had a change of heart about my proposal?"

"No," Mara yelled at him. "I didn't have a change of heart! I turned you down before because I didn't think that we would work. I wanted a career and you wanted a family and... I just couldn't give that to you. Not then, maybe not ever."

"So why did you come?" he was confused.

Mara shrugged, "I thought that perhaps there might be something for us, maybe not marriage and family, but something more than friends. Maybe... oh hell, I don't know," She trailed off shaking her head as she sat down on the corner of the hotel bed.

"Then I saw you there with Jadie, babies on the way, such a wonderful family, everything that you've always wanted, and I couldn't help but be happy for you." A smile ghosted her lips, "Luke, no matter what we may or may not have been to each other, we have always been friends. I would never sabotage your marriage, your happiness, and I cannot _believe_ that you would even consider that possibility."

"Mara," he said weakly.

"We have trusted each other for over a decade, Skywalker," her anger grew, "and I have never given you reason to distrust me, why start now?" Mara shook her head in disgust.

Suddenly Luke was assaulted by terrible doubts. "Mara, you and Leia were the only ones outside of Nirauan who knew how to reach me and the Holo transmittal codes were traced back to your ship. JS4263 is the ship code for the _Jade Sabre_! What was I to think?"

Mara tilted her head, letting the information sink in before she snorted. "You really are a gullible, rimworld dikket."

"Huh?" he answered dumbly, not expecting that reply.

"Do you know how easy it is to slice bogus codes into a holo message?" she gave a short laugh, taking on a duh tone of voice, "You're living on a base full of intelligence analysts and I've contacted you a couple times from the _Sabre_. Any one of them could have gotten my ship code from those transmissions."

Luke remained silent as he walked over and sat heavily on a hotel chair, staring ahead blindly. Tamas had told him the message probably came from on planet but he dismissed his explanation once he saw the name of Mara's ship pop up on the computer.

Why did he immediately jump to conclusions? Why was he so eager to believe Mara would want to steal him away from Jadie? Could Mara be right? Did he fly all the way out to Adumar simply because his bruised male ego wanted to finally force his friend into admitting emotions that he always suspected she maintained?

He reached out to Mara with the Force and he found her once strong personal shields shredded. Her hurt and anger washed over him, but underneath the swirl of intense emotion he could feel the undeniable truthfulness of her words.

"I'm sorry," Luke whispered, his stomach clenching as he realized of how he much he hurt her. Looking up at his friend in anguish, "Oh Mara, I am so sorry. The... the message was traced to your ship," he repeated apologetically.

"I don't know what I should be more angry about, Skywalker," she shook her head sadly, "the fact that you could think I would be so lowdown as to want to break up your marriage, or the fact that you think I would be stupid enough to leave my routing transmittal information on a holo I didn't want traced back to me?"

"Well... ah... " he mumbled.

"I was the Emperor's Hand for Sithsake!" she reminded him harshly. "I am highly skilled in espionage, if I wanted to send an untraceable message I could and I wouldn't need to send spies to capture our little talk on the balcony. I am skilled enough in holomanipulation that if I wanted to I could make a fake holo depicting you smoking death sticks and groping Twi'lek harem girls that would look so authentic that even your sister would believe it true!"

Luke just lowered his head and remained silent.

"No, I know what's worst," she continued, "somebody is trying to frame me for something I didn't do." She leaned forward and glared at Luke. "You know what Skywalker, not everything revolves around you," she said sharply. "Instead of thinking that somebody is trying to break up your marriage to get to you, I think you should wonder who might be trying to get to Jadie."

Someone was trying to get to his wife? It wasn't an option he didn't want to consider, but it was just as logical and possible.

"Did Jadie date anybody on Nirauan before she met you?" Mara asked.

"I am not sure…" Luke shook his head. "I don't think so. Jadie said that Dr. Bentu kept her on a short leash and she always had a chaperone with her."

Mara sat back and arched an eyebrow at Luke questionably. "Who was the chaperone?"

"What?" he asked confused.

"If Jadie always had a chaperone," Mara rolled her eyes at her friend's naiveté, "someone was always with her. Do you know who that was?"

Luke shook his head. "I don't know. I don't even know if it was one person or many."

Mara crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, why don't you use the room's Comm unit and call your wife or Dr. Bentu and find out."

"Sure," Luke said hoarsely as he rose and hesitantly moved toward the Comm unit. He would call Dr. Bentu, it would be too much to explain to Jadie why he was calling from Mara's hotel room.

"Go on and call," Mara cajoled him, "I really would like to know who possibly is making my life miserable… more so than you that is," she corrected herself as she folded her arms across her chest.

Ignoring the jab, not wanting to make things worse, Luke sat down at the holocomm and hesitated only for a moment before putting in a call to the doctor.

It took an unbearably long time before there was a response; looking at his chrono Luke realized it was very early morning on Nirauan. Eventually the tired and befuddled face of Dr. Bentu appeared on the holo. "What is it?" he asked, his eyes only half open.

"Dr. Bentu, it's Commander Skywalker, I have a question. Jadie said you always had a chaperone with her before we met. Who was that chaperone?"

The doctor blinked at Luke as if just seeing him for the first time. "Luke? What?"

"Who was Jadie's chaperone before I came to Nirauan?" Luke repeated himself.

Bentu rubbed his eyes still not fully awake. "Chaperone? Connor was her chaperone. Why?"

Luke didn't answer, but simply cut off the transmission and stared into the empty space. "Connor?" he choked. "My aide, the man I asked to watch over my wife while I was gone?"

He turned to look at Mara wide-eyed, her hardened features softening when she saw the incredible pain in Luke's eyes.

"Luke, I think you better get back to your wife."

.

.

 

Racing back to Nirauan, Luke made it back in record time, landing at about 0730 hours. Jadie should be awake by now but he wasn't sure what he should do first. He possibly destroyed his friendship with Mara by assuming the worst so he needed to think this one through before he made accusations against Connor.

He needed to talk to Jadie to see if Connor ever expressed any interest in her. Could the young man have been harboring unrequited feelings for his wife all this time? If he did, Luke was confident that any affection was one-sided on Connor's part. Luke would never doubt his wife's faithfulness, he absolutely couldn't picture Jadie in another man's arms. It was not something he could or would contemplate.

Arriving at his apartment he palmed the entry panel. As he entered his quarters he stopped dead in his tracks and stared ahead in shock at what he saw. There, sitting on his couch, holding hands and gazing at each other affectionately, he found his wife and Ensign Connor.


	19. Chapter 19

Jadie and Connor both looked up at Luke in surprise, quickly pulling away from each other as if their skin burned from the contact.

"Jadie?" Luke gasped in disbelief and shock, "Connor?"

_What was going on here?_ Luke knew he promised himself not to jump to conclusions again, but what he had just witnessed, and the profound amount of guilt emanating through the Force from Connor, was enough to convince Luke he had the true culprit this time.

Anger boiling up inside him, he marched toward the young man and lifted him straight off of the couch by the front of his tunic. Ensign Jak Connor yelped as his feet left the floor.

"Keep your hands off my wife," Luke growled as he tossed the man over the couch with a powerful Force shove. Moving to attack the man again, his wife blocked him.

"Have you gone crazy?" she screamed at Luke as Connor staggered away from him until his back hit the far wall and he could go no further, his face a mask of sheer terror. The ensign obviously wasn't interested in fighting an angry Jedi Master husband anytime soon. "What are you doing?"

Luke turned to Jadie. "What I am doing is beating the kriff out of a man who is trying to cause problems in our marriage! He is the one who sent you that Holo!" Of that Luke was now absolutely certain.

"Luke calm down, please," Jadie put her hands on Luke's chest preventing him from advancing on the man, "I'll tell you everything. Violence is not the solution."

"It is," Luke muttered as he tried to move around his wife to get to the frightened young man, "if you apply it properly."

"Stop it right now!" Jadie yelled as she grabbed Luke by the arms and held him in place physically and with the Force. "Jak," Jadie said as she turned her head to the ensign, "get out of here!"

Connor took a tentative step toward the door but then stopped and looked at Jadie with concern. "Jadie, are you going to be all right?"

"Yes, just get out!" she commanded.

The young man hesitated for a moment before he hastened out of the apartment shutting the door behind him. Luke struggled to follow but was held in place by his wife's surprisingly strong Force hold. It wasn't until the aide was safely gone that Jadie sighed and slowly released her grip on him.

"What was going on here Jadie?" he asked coldly, fearing the answer.

"We were just talking Luke," she said defensively.

"You were holding hands!" Luke pointed out tersely.

Jadie's eyes shot back up at him, her glare turned hard. "And so were you and Mara in that holo."

"That's different," Luke shot back. "Mara isn't sending you slanderous holovids in order to break up our marriage!"

Jadie shook her head and turned away from Luke. "Connor is not trying to break up our marriage, Luke."

"Connor sent that Holo in order to cause problems! Or are you denying that?"

"No, he sent it," Jadie sighed, "that's why he was here. When he realized you left Nirauan he started feeling guilty. He came to confess to me what he did."

Luke's face and neck flushed red with anger. "Jadie, he was hoping to break us up so he could have you for his own!"

"Sweetheart, Connor didn't send the holo to break us up," Jadie laughed at Luke's assertion, "and even if he did, I can guarantee it was not to get me into his bed."

He shook his head in disbelief; his wife was way too trusting. "Jadie, listen, I have been around a lot longer than you. Let me tell you, I know men, they have one thing on their minds when around a beautiful woman like yourself."

Crossing her arms in front of her body she cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really, so when you are around Mara, you have only one thing on your mind also?"

Groaning inwardly he chastised himself, Jadie was getting good at twisting his words around. "You know that's not the case, Mara is my friend," a pained look flashed across his face, "at least she was a friend. Thanks to Connor, his slicing skills and access to my holonet codes, I probably can't call her that anymore."

A look of concern crossed Jadie's face. "What did you do Luke?"

"He made it look like she sent the holo so I thought she was trying to break us up. I went and confronted her, and let me tell you, it wasn't a pretty scene." Luke dropped his head down to his chest. "I accused her of trying to break us up to get with me."

Jadie walked up to her husband and gently hugged him. "I'm sorry Luke," she whispered as she led him to the couch to sit. "I think it is time we talked."

Bracing himself he took a seat as those words rarely led to pleasant conversations.

"Luke, Connor did send that holovid and tried to blame it on Mara, but it wasn't to get me into his bed."

"How do you know that?" Luke asked doubtfully.

Jadie paused and looked down in thought. "Because Connor is not interested in me or any other woman for that matter. Connor, well, he prefers being around men, if you know what I mean."

It took it a moment to sink in, and once it did Luke sat back in shock, his mind racing, trying to make sense of the situation. "Well," Luke started tentatively, "why would Connor want to break us up if he wasn't interested in having a relationship with you?" He was a bit confused but suddenly his head snapped up and he stared at Jadie wide-eyed. "He wants to get with me?"

Jadie snorted and smacked Luke across the chest. "Luke! Not everybody in the galaxy wants to get into your pants," she shook her head in disbelief, "and he wasn't trying to break up our marriage at all. He was trying to break up you and Mara! For some reason he got the idea into his head that you and her were having an affair and he wanted her out of the picture. Getting you furious with her was his plan, but when he realized you blasted off planet he worried that his scheme had backfired. He was afraid that either my reaction drove you away or you were going to find Mara and do something crazy so he came to me to confess." Jadie paused then looked up at her husband with sad eyes. "He is just a friend, Luke. Unfortunately, he is a very overprotective friend who thought he was helping me."

Luke looked at his wife skeptically. "So if you and Connor are just friends, why didn't you tell me about this? Why did you both keep it all a secret?"

Jadie wrung her hands self-consciously. "Luke, I know how touchy you are when other men are around me. You don't say anything, but I can feel it through the Force. I didn't want you to be jealous of my friendship with him."

"Honey, if he isn't interested in women, why would I be jealous?" he paused, confused, "You aren't referring to that emotional infidelity stuff again, are you?"

"No," Luke could feel a burst of exasperation from Jadie, "it's just that he didn't want you to know about his preferences. Connor wasn't sure how you would react to the news, a lot of men feel threatened for some reason. The last commander he worked for reassigned him when he found out, so he wanted to keep it quiet," Jadie explained. "Somehow Dr. Bentu discovered his secret and decided he was ideal to chaperone me around the base in the time before I met you. After we married, when you requested assistance in your research, Dr. Bentu knew any aide of yours would have close contact with me, so he recommended Connor to avoid the problems you're so damned worry about."

"Luke," Jadie reached across and held Luke's hands in hers, "I have known Jak all my life and I realize you probably wont want him working with you any more because of what he did, but please don't send him away." Jadie pleaded with her husband.

Luke was hit with an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu as he suddenly realized that only a day before it was he that was begging Jadie not to force him to end his friendship with Mara. He even swore that he would never make the same demand on her.

He took in a deep calming breath. "I am still mad at him, and if Mara catches him I can't vouch for his safety." He glanced away in thought then back at his wife. "I won't have him transferred off planet, but I don't want to see him for long while. He caused a lot of trouble by meddling in our affairs and he possibly cost me a good friend."

"I understand Luke," Jadie nodded, "Do you think… do you think it would help if I contacted Mara and explained the situation?"

"I don't know," he said sadly. "I accused her of betraying me and doing all sorts of terrible things. I don't know if she will ever fully forgive me. I don't even know if I deserve to be forgiven." Luke looked down at the ground dejected and sighed deeply. After a moment he glanced around the apartment. "Did the kids sleep through all this ruckus?"

Jadie nodded, "They were up most of the night, I just got them to bed before Connor arrived."

Luke rose off the couch slowly. "I think I will join them. I have been up flying all night." He dropped a kiss on the top of Jadie's head. "I will try to sort out all of this mess after I'm rested. Am I sorry, for everything."

"I know," she returned his kiss gently, "get some rest my love."

Jadie watched as Luke went into the bedroom and softly closed the door behind him. She shook her head slowly, she had to make this right somehow.

After a few hours of restless sleep Luke was torn out of his slumber by the soft cries of one of the babies. Rolling out of bed he stretched his stiff legs before padding over to the bassinets to pick up Owen gingerly.

"How's my little Jedi?" Luke asked his son softly as he rocked him gently in his arms. Owen turned toward Luke and nuzzled his head into his chest. "Nope, you want your mom," Luke chuckled as he stepped out of the room in search of Jadie.

He found her sitting in the living room crossed legged in her normal meditative position but something was different this time… something was wrong.

Her eyes were closed in a trance-like state, but her breathing was labored and irregular and her long red gold hair was standing on end as if she was trapped in an electrostatic field. What really horrified Luke was the deathly pallor of her skin. It was sickly white and seemed so fragile and thin that Luke could make out the trail of veins lying beneath.

Luke gasped as he noticed that a single drop of blood slowly trickle down from his wife's nose.

"Jadie!" Luke screamed, quickly sitting Owen down on the carpet before rushing to his wife. He quickly wrapped is arms around her protectively and shook her sharply as he called for her to exit her trance.

"Wake up Jadie, wake up!" Luke pleaded with his wife.

Jadie's eyes snapped open, but then turned white as they rolled to the back of her head. She coughed a few times and Luke cried out as he noticed flecks of blood fly from her mouth to stain the carpet.

"Jadie!" he screamed again frantically as his wife collapsed over to her side. "Kriff! Where's my commlink?" Luke searched his pockets unsuccessfully for the device and decided to get up to go to the holocomm when he heard Jadie call for him.

"Luke," she groaned, "I'm okay."

Luke rushed back to her side. "Jadie!" he glanced at the holocomm. "I really should call Dr. Bentu."

He went to rise but Jadie grabbed his hand, halting him. "No really, I am fine. That session was just a little intense, that's all. I am okay now," she assured her husband.

Luke looked at his wife skeptically, but she was right, her color and breathing were returning back to normal. Letting out a sigh of relief he then noticed for the first time that both of his children were crying uncontrollably. Jadie went to rise, but Luke put his hand on her shoulder stopping her from standing. Quickly he went over and picked up Owen and rocked him in his arms as he returned the distraught baby back to their sleeping chamber. Using the Force to calm Owen and Jemma and nudge them back to sleep, he then returned to his wife's side.

"Stang Jadie, why were you doing your pathfinder meditations without supervision? Dr. Bentu told us it could be dangerous!" he said as he kneeled next to her, angry that she would do something so foolish.

"I'm sorry Luke," Jadie said, her emerald eyes brimming with tears. "I felt so bad about the situation with Mara… I thought I could fix it for you. Find a way for her to forgive you and return things back to the way they were."

Luke's anger immediately faded. "Jadie, I appreciate you wanting to help, but I don't think things will ever be the same between us. I wouldn't blame Mara if she never forgave me."

"No," Jadie shook her head, "she loves you enough to forgive you and she will. I will make sure of it."

Luke stood suddenly, shocked by his wife's comment. "Mara doesn't…" he stopped. He was going to deny that Mara had any feelings for him, but that wasn't true, was it? He closed his mouth and remained silent.

Jadie simply smiled sadly at her husband.

"Don't worry Luke. I now understand your relationship with her. You both care for each other deeply," she said as she stood and reached out to her husband.

"Sweetheart, there is nothing between…" Luke began, wanting to reassure his wife, but she quickly silenced him with a hand gently pressed against his lips.

"You don't have to explain Luke. I have seen the future. I know you two are not lusting after each other, but your fates will forever be intertwined through the Force."

_What did Jadie see in her visions?_ Luke wondered.

"I love you, Jadie," Luke answered softly as he leaned forward and gently kissed his wife. "I will love you forever."

Jadie smiled up at her husband, "I know." She gazed at Luke lovingly for a moment. "I found it"

Luke cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Found what Jadie?"

"I found the future thread that will stop the invasion."

A broad smile flashed across Luke's face as he whooped with joy and crushed his wife in a warm hug. "That is the best news I have heard in a long time!" He cried as he buried his face in Jadie's red gold hair. He pulled back and beamed at his wife, overjoyed to know that the galaxy and his family would survive. Luke's smile slid from his face when he remembered something. "The kids! The kids will be all right, won't they?"

Jadie put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "They will be fine."

He let out a sigh of relief, then noticed his wife was still pale.

"I am just tired, that's all," she answered his unasked question. "It did take a lot out of me. I think we both could use some rest."

"Jadie," Luke had to ask, "what does this future hold for the kids… for our family?"

She gave him a warm reassuring smile. "Luke, don't worry. I see a happy future for the Skywalker Family."


	20. Chapter 20

Jadie slowly came out of her meditative trance and promptly slumped over to her side, exhausted and breathing hard, her shoulder length hair clinging to her face, wet with perspiration.

Luke sat down beside his wife and gently brushed the hair away from her eyes as he cradled her head in his lap. They were sitting on the family room floor of their small quarters. Jadie had been in one of her Pathfinder trances for over an hour, much to Luke's displeasure.

"Sweetheart, you have been at it for over a week, I know you found the proper future thread, but haven't you found enough information to initiate that particular future?"

She shook her head slightly. "I just want to make sure this is the proper path, Luke. I need to check the others."

"I thought you said there was only one future where the invasion was avoided entirely?" Luke looked confused.

Jadie pursed her lips slightly. Over the years, Luke realized that was a sign that she was carefully weighing her words before speaking. "There is only one, but I…" she paused, "Luke, I need to follow that particular future out for a few years, perhaps decades. There is a danger to only looking at a particular future line in the short term. There could be dire consequences that we don't see. We could avoid this invasion and it could make matters worse in the future. Perhaps the invasion prepared our galaxy to face an even greater threat later on."

He couldn't argue with that logic, after all, their earlier experiments in short term future making resulted in them inadvertently headlining in an amateur pleasure holo. Still, he didn't like to see Jadie spend so much time in these trances. She had been working much too hard. When she wasn't doing her pathfinder meditations she was spending hours upon hours honing her lightsaber techniques or practicing other Jedi skills, and that was on top of helping care for the children. She was running herself ragged.

"There are also complications in this pathfinding ability," Jadie continued.

"Complications?" Luke tried to keep the worry from his voice.

"These futures are not exactly like a constant threads of events, I can't just initiate one future and it will forever remain on that course. There are divergent points all along the future line. I can find the act that will initiate one future line, but I have to check all the divergent points and figure out how to keep the events on that particular path, or how to divert onto the other future path. I see about 5 divergent points along the future thread I want." She looked up at Luke. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, but come on, you need some rest," Luke helped his wife up to her feet, "let's get you to bed and I will go get the kids from Dr. Bentu."

"No," she pulled away from him, "I need to take some notes while this is fresh in my mind, but you go ahead and get the kids."

He was about to say something when the front door indicator buzzed. Jadie leaned up against the bedroom doorframe and motioned for Luke to go ahead and answer it.

Luke opened the front door and stiffened slightly when he found Ensign Connor standing in the doorway holding a big box. The Ensign stepped back, startled, obviously not expected to see the Jedi Master.

"Umm, Commander," the young man stuttered as he shuffled his feet nervously. "Jad… your wife asked me to bring her these supplies."

"Thank you," Luke said stiffly as he took the box from the ensign.

Connor stood nervously in the doorway for a moment longer before he nodded over Luke's shoulder toward Jadie and then hurried down the hall.

Luke slapped the door panel, the door sliding shut much too quietly than he would have liked. He turned to see Jadie giving him an exasperated look.

"What?" Luke said defensively. "I said thank you."

Jadie looked down at the floor. "How long are going to give him the silent treatment?"

"I'll tell you what, when Mara starts returning my messages, maybe I will start talking to him." Luke retorted.

Jadie sighed, "Just give her time, Luke. She'll come around."

Luke put the large box down on the kitchen table. "Yes, but when?"

"I saw her in my meditations," Jadie informed him. "When is your sister coming to visit?"

"Next week, why?" he asked.

"Invite Mara to join Leia and Han to visit… she'll come."

"How can you be sure?" Luke asked incredulously.

"Who's the pathfinder here?" Jadie rolled her eyes. "Yes she will come, just invite her and tell her I want her to see the babies. She won't turn down the chance to see the children… or you… no matter how much of a gullible rimworld dikket she thinks you are." Jadie said with a chuckle.

Luke groaned. Perhaps there were parts of that story he should have omitted.

"Okay, I'll invite her," he said as he opened the box and started pulling out one liter cans labeled _Pedacibal_. "What's this?"

"Dehydrated baby formula. I had Connor go off planet to get me some. I am planning of weaning the babies." Jadie said as she walked back toward Luke. "These trances take a lot out of me. I would feel better if I didn't need to worry about being able to feed the children on demand."

Luke nodded as he put the can back in the box. "There is an awful lot here."

"You have no idea how much the babies eat," Jadie said. "That is only one month's supply. I asked Connor to pick up enough for three months. I told him to keep the remainder in the commissary supply pantries."

Luke closed up the box and considered where to store it. "Okay," he said with a smile as he closed the distance between him and his wife. "You go ahead and make your notes Jadie and I will put away the formula and go get the kids from the doctor."

Jadie smiled and gave him a soft lingering kiss. "You are a wonderful father, Luke."

He gazed lovingly into Jadie's bright green eyes. "And you are a wonderful mother."

Jadie simply smiled again and turned, sliding silently into her bedroom.

Luke turned toward the box. He would put the formula away, but before he picked up the kids, he would make a call to an old friend.

.

.

 

_One Week Later_

"Security just informed me that the _Millennium Falcon_ just entered orbit and Mara landed a few minutes ago," Luke told Jadie, his voice a mixture of nervousness and excitement. She was changing the twins' diapers, but took the time to give Luke a smug _I-told-you-so_ look.

The expression didn't escape the Jedi Master's notice. "Hey, I didn't say I didn't believe your prediction wouldn't come to pass… in fact I am counting on the accuracy of your predictions. I just know how stubborn Mara is and if anybody could twist fate and confound the ways of the Force just to spite me, it would be Mara."

"It must be something in our genes," Jadie said wryly.

Luke was about to comment when the door indicator buzzed. He hesitated, calming himself before opening the door.

There stood Mara Jade looking tense and a bit irritated.

"Skywalker," she said quietly.

Luke wasn't sure what type of greeting Mara would endure from him. He decided against the friendly hug and simply smiled as he moved aside and motioned for her to enter.

"Mara, I am so glad you decided to come," he said happily.

"Well… I wanted to see my niece and nephew," she said matter-of-factly, implying she wasn't here to see Luke.

"Mara," Jadie said warmly as she walked into the room with Owen and Jemma in her arms. "I know you have been here before, but I want to welcome you to our home properly this time."

Seeing Jadie's sincere smile, Mara's tense posture and demeanor immediately relaxed.

"I want you to meet Jemma and Owen." Jadie continued.

Mara gazed down at the two babies in awe. "They're beautiful," Mara said softly. "It is obvious they get their good looks from their mother," Mara said snidely as she gave a quick look over her shoulder to Luke. He feigned a hurt expression, but then laughed which brought a reluctant smile to Mara's lips.

"Can you take Jemma for me, Mara," Jadie asked as she turned her body so she could transfer the baby girl.

Mara's eyes went wide as she took a step back. "I uhh…" she stammered nervously.

Luke smiled broadly, covering his mouth with his hand, concealing his amusement at his friend's discomfort. Mara caught a hint of his emotions through the Force and turned to glare at him. "Shut up, Farmboy," she said agitatedly. "It is just that I have never held a baby before."

"Just support her head," Jadie explained.

Nervously Mara moved forward and carefully took the baby out of Jadie's arms. At first she stood stiffly, almost as if she was handling an armed thermal detonator, but soon her body relaxed and Luke could feel a surge of warmth through the Force flowing from his old friend.

She turned to Luke and smiled then gazed back down at Jemma. Luke was immediately struck by the surreality of the image before him. Jadie and Mara were standing side by side, each holding one of his babies. Both were gazing down at the child in their arms with identical expressions of tenderness and wonder on their faces.

The door indicator chimed once again pulling Luke out of his reverie.

He opened the door to find Han and Leia.

"Hey kid," Han started but froze when he saw Jadie and Mara. "Whoa!" he grinned. "This is like a scene from one of those Amazing Galactic tales pulp novels." He leaned over to Luke and whispered so Leia wouldn't hear, "The younger one is your wife, right?" He then gave Luke a wink and thumbs up.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Come on in and meet the family." He walked over to Jadie and stood beside her his arm draping over her shoulder. "This is Jadie and my son Owen. Mara is holding Jemma."

Leia rushed forward, smiling broadly, with tears gleaming in her eyes. "Jadie, it is wonderful finally meeting you," Leia said she gave Jadie a gentle hug and then gazed down as Owen, "And your children… they're beautiful." Leia lightly stroked Owen's silky strawberry blond hair. "Can I hold him?" Leia asked quietly.

"Of course," Jadie smiled as she handed Owen over to his aunt.

Han had drifted up to Mara's side and was grinning down at the baby girl she held. Mara glanced up at Han and smiled. "You want to hold her?"

"Sure," Han said softly as he picked up the precious bundle. Once Jemma was safely in his arms, a broad grin crossed his face, as he gently rocked her back and forth. "I remember when the kids were this small."

"You were right about fatherhood," Luke grinned, standing next to his sister who was rocking Owen in her arms as well.

Han started to spout off more fatherly advice and Leia corrected him each time. Mara stepped back and allowed the family time to bond.

"Mara," came a soft but familiar voice from her side. She turned to find Jadie standing next to her. "Would you mind helping me in the kitchen?"

"Sure," Mara said as she followed her clone into the tiny kitchen alcove.

"I am glad you came," Jadie said softly so that the others in the tiny apartment could not hear. "It means a lot to Luke… and to me."

Mara looked a bit uncomfortable and merely nodded.

"I realize this must be very awkward for you being around me," Jadie continued. "After all, my very existence began from DNA recovered from you." Jadie paused for a moment and then continued. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. In a way, you are the closest thing to a mother that I have."

Mara's eyes widened and then she scoffed. "If you don't mind, I would prefer to think of you as my younger sister… a slightly younger sister."

"Of course," she paused for a moment. "I know we started out on the wrong foot," Jadie said hesitantly, "with me and you scuffling in the middle of the night..."

Mara shifted her weight uncomfortably. "That was entirely my fault. I really should learn to knock. Old habits are hard to break."

Jadie chuckled. "Luke told me about your past profession. And how your skills saved his life more than a few times. For that I will be forever grateful."

"Yeah, well, I am passing the baton to you now. You can be the one to save his hide the next time he is attacked by sentinel droids or an evil clone tries to kill him."

Jadie's head snapped up looking shocked.

Mara blanched realizing how her comment must have been perceived. "I was referring to Joruus C'baoth," Mara said quickly.

"Oh…" Jadie whispered as her features relaxed back to a smile. "I will make sure to take care of him."

Jadie reached up to the cabinets above the sink and pulled down some glasses. "I am really sorry for all the… the trouble this situation has caused you, Mara… finding out about me, about being a clone, and the trouble Connor put you through… I'm…" Jadie trailed off.

"It's not your fault, "Mara ran her hand through her hair in thought. "We both have been pawns in some bizarre game… this whole pathfinder experiment."

Jadie nodded her head. "I often wonder if this was all preplanned. Did the original pathfinder foresee her death bringing on the cloning experiments? Is there a predestined purpose for our existence?" Jadie commented quietly.

Mara gazed in her clones clear green eyes. "You should know the answer to that better than anybody else."

"Unfortunately," Jadie looked away, "I do."

"What is it like being a pathfinder…" Mara asked quietly, "to finally be fulfilling a destiny that was started over forty years ago?"

"It is a blessing and a curse," Jadie sighed. "Some of the possible futures are horrifying. Even the happy future threads are difficult to watch."

Mara gave her a confused look. "Why is that?"

Jadie shrugged. "It is like being a voyeur. You are peaking into peoples' lives. Seeing them in their most public and private moments, their highs and lows, their joys and sorrows. And at the same time you are thinking, 'Of these various futures, I can determine which one will come to pass, I just have to discover the action that will initiate that future thread.'" She gave Mara a sad look. "It is humbling to know that you have so much control over the fates of others… but at the same time it is terrifying and depressing because no matter what you do, somebody, somewhere is not going to be happy. There is no one future were everybody comes out on top."

"I guess you just have to choose the best of all possible futures." Mara said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, that is what I intend to do." She pulled out some bottles of liquor from a lower cabinet. "Do you know if Han likes Whyren's Reserve whiskey?"

"I think Han likes anything with alcohol in it." Mara said wryly.

"Good," Jadie said as she poured the drinks. She then put down the bottle and gazed down in thought. "Luke told me what happened on Adumar," she looked up at Mara expectantly. "Are you still mad at him?"

Mara shook her head. "Not really."

Jadie smiled. "You mean the world to him you know."

"So do you," Mara replied. "That is probably why he was acting so irrational. I still can't believe he flew to another planet so he could accuse me of trying to destroy his marriage." Mara shook her head in disbelief. "He loves his family so much that he sometimes lets his emotions override his common sense. It seems to be the Jedi Master's greatest weakness."

Jadie gave Mara a sad look. "Yes, it is."


	21. Chapter 21

The next four days were probably the best Luke had experienced in a very long time. He was ecstatic that he could finally share the joy of having a wife and children with his family. Leia and Han naturally fell into the role of a loving aunt and uncle and spent hours playing and holding the babies. Even Mara appeared to cherish her time with her newly acquired extended family.

Luke couldn't help but notice a change with his friend. In the past Mara always had seemed emotionally reserved, as if she thought showing affection was a sign of weakness, but in the last few days she appeared to revel in being part of a family.

More than once Luke found Mara and his wife holed up in a corner of their apartment laughing and whispering to each other conspiratorially. Occasionally he would catch them glancing up at Luke before, to his great astonishment, they burst out in, what he could only describe as, giggling. It was almost as if they were truly two sisters sharing secrets—although what those secrets were made him wonder and left him a bit self-conscious. He had a distinct feeling that half the time they were talking about him. But he was not about to interrupt their bonding. They were finally getting along and that was all that mattered.

It was in those few days that they had in depth discussions as to how they were going to introduce his wife to the galaxy. Jadie expressed concerns at being identified as a clone, not so much for her sake, but for the children's. Because both women looked nearly identical, Luke thought it best to claim Jadie was Mara's long lost younger sister.

" _My younger sister is named Jadie Jade?"_ Mara had said with a laugh. _"I guess our parents had a sense of humor_."

Despite her amusement at the name, Mara agreed to the subterfuge and promised to deliver appropriate forged documents that would substantiate Jadie's fabricated history.

It was settled, as soon as Jadie and Luke were finished with all of this pathfinder business they would leave Nirauan and return to either Coruscant or Yavin IV to live.

At the end of their visit the Solo/Skywalker family found themselves at the EOH docking bay saying their tearful good-byes. Leia wept as she hugged Luke, Jadie and the twins, and repeatedly made Luke promise to bring the family to visit her soon. Han hugged Jadie and then gave Luke a friendly squeeze on the shoulder before he gently coaxed Leia up the boarding ramp of the _Falcon_.

Luke waved one last time as the ship lifted off of the docking bay and into the Nirauan night sky.

Without a word, Jadie and Luke turned to walk about 100 meters down to where the _Jade Sabre_ was docked. Mara had just finished with the exterior safety checks, and upon seeing Luke and his family, turned to greet them.

"You sure I can't convince you to come to Coruscant with me?" Mara asked.

Jadie shifted Owen in her arms. "I would love to see the Jewel of the Galaxy," Jadie sighed, "but I think it is too long of a trip with the children so young." She looked up at Mara with a determined gaze, "Besides, I have a few Pathfinder matters to take care of first. Then we can all leave Nirauan for good."

Mara nodded. "Well, I am going to miss you and the kids," Mara gave a quick glance over to Luke, "and even the Farmboy," she said with feigned reluctance then turned back to her clone. "If you ever need anything, and I mean anything, just let me know."

"Thank you, Mara." Jadie said as she stepped forward and gave the former Imperial Assassin a heartfelt one-arm hug, careful not to crush Owen in her arms.

As they separated Luke couldn't help but notice Mara's eyes were getting misty as she looked down to Owen. "You take care of your Mom, little guy." She then turned to Luke who was holding Jemma. "And you too, Jemma," she said softly, gazing down at the sleeping child and reaching out to gently stroke the baby's hair. She smiled and then looked up at Luke. "You take care of them, Skywalker."

Luke glanced down at Jemma. "I will." He looked back up into Mara's clear green eyes. "And thank you for coming… and not killing me… or Connor."

Mara laughed, "I didn't get to meet the man. I guess he went into hiding when he heard I was on planet."

"He may have lacked common sense when he tried to frame you," Luke smiled, "but his instinct for self-preservation appears to be functioning properly now."

"Smart man," Mara chuckled.

Luke leaned forward and gave Mara a gentle hug. "Take care, Mara," he whispered softly in her ear.

Mara only smiled as she stepped away from Luke. She gave Jadie a quick wave goodbye and stepped up her boarding ramp of the _Sabre_.

As Mara's ship rose and slowly made its way out of the docking bay, Luke heard Jadie sigh.

"What's wrong?" Luke asked.

Jadie shook her head. "Nothing," she said quietly. "I am just going to miss them."

Luke smiled. "As soon as we are done with this pathfinder business we can go to Coruscant and be one big extended family. I promise."

Jadie smiled as she looked down at Owen. "I am glad the children have such a loving family." She looked back up to Luke. "I want to get back to my meditations. We need to end this invasion before it even starts."

.

 

"Are you sure it is sector L30 that we need to concentrate on?" Lieutenant Baku Varik, the head of the EOH Intelligence division, asked Jadie.

Jadie squared her shoulders, she knew she would run into people who didn't put much stock into Jedi visions, but Varik was turning out to be extremely difficult.

"Yes, I am sure. I see the invasionary force coming from sector L30 outside the Tingle Arm." She shook her head. "You mean you haven't found anything in that parsec?"

The young officer with closely cropped hair and a stern face shook his head. "All we have found is an asteroid field. There is no indication of any alien spacecraft."

Luke, who was sitting in on the meeting, suddenly was struck by a thought, whether the Force or just something he barely remembered in science class on Tatooine caused it, he wasn't sure. "These asteroids, have you checked to see if they conform to the usual asteroid orbital paths?"

Lieutenant Varik's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me Master Skywalker?"

Luke cleared his throat. "I just wanted to make sure that these are really asteroids that we are seeing. It shouldn't be too difficult to compare sequential holos of a specific area to see if these asteroids are moving in a normal orbital path."

"I don't see how that is going to help…" Lieutenant Varik began.

"Just do it!" Luke commanded, becoming tired of this charade. He was a Lieutenant Commander and he was going to take advantage of that situation. There was too much at stake.

For a second it looked like the Lieutenant was going to argue but just then Doctor Bentu chimed in. "I agree with Commander Skywalker, we need to check everything."

Dr. Bentu may be the senior medical doctor, geneticist and cloner of the facility, but he was also the full rank of Captain, and this fact apparently did not go unnoticed by the Intelligence Chief. The Lieutenant straightened in his chair and nodded slightly. "Yes, Sir," he said and motioned to his aide who rushed from the room.

"If it turns out that there is something unusual happening in sector L30, what do you suggest we should do?" Varik asked Jadie and Luke, his distaste for following Jedi advice evident in his tone.

Jadie took a deep calming breath. "From what I have seen in my visions, this alien race that is seeking to attack our galaxy is very religious and I see a division within their ranks. Some do not want to enter our galaxy; others are pushing toward invasion. From what I gather from my meditations, if we can make a preemptive attack as they approach our region it will create an even greater rift among them, causing the group opposing the invasion to momentarily take control of their government and demand the halt of the attack."

"A preemptive attack. There is no way we will convince the Chiss to go along with that," Varik said while shaking his head. "They have strict rules against such an act, and, even though the EOH does not prohibit such action, we don't have the manpower to turn away an invasionary force."

"From what I have seen we don't need to win the conflict to dissuade them from entering our galaxy, but we do need to make a show of force and we cannot show any weakness. We need to make the first move. Like I said, they are vacillating as to whether to attack or not. An aggressive show of force, even if it does not cause much damage to their fleet, will prove that we are worthy opponents." Jadie paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

"In the future time lines where they do invade I see the Chiss, the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant being too indecisive as to how to oppose the invaders. It only confirmed the alien's belief that we were an unworthy race that should be purged from the system." Jadie said adamantly. "We need to show that we are worthy, and we need to do it soon."

"We will need the help of the New Republic," Dr. Bentu said matter-of-factly to Luke. "Do you think you can convince the government to help?"

Luke nodded, "I think I can. And if not the NR, maybe I could get help from individual systems, like the Hapans."

"That leads us to the problem of what to tell the NR exactly," Dr. Bentu brought up the subject that Luke had been dreading. "Do we tell them all about the Pathfinder project? If we do, that will immediately put Jadie in danger. Every tyrant and criminal warlord would want to get their hands on somebody with her ability."

"We could say I had the visions," Luke answered, "leave Jadie out of the picture entirely and definitely leave out the part where we can initiate a particular future into actualization. I think if we can produce intelligence data indicating the presence of an alien fleet and combined that with a prophetic vision from a Jedi master about the destruction of the galaxy, it should be enough to convince the government to send a force out to sector L30 to investigate."

"That is _if_ there is anything out there to investigate," Lieutenant Varik put in.

Luke did not have time to answer. Lieutenant Varik's aide entered the room, his eyes wide, looking visibly shaken. "Sir," the young ensign said nervously, "there _is_ something there."

.

.

Luke put the last of his clothes into his flight bag and zipped it up. He picked it up off the bed and brought it into the living room where Jadie and the babies were sitting together and playing on the carpet.

"Are you sure you won't come with me to Coruscant. I worry about you and the kids being in the Unknown Region so close to where the Aliens may appear."

Jadie shook her head. "No, Nirauan is not going to be in any danger. And as long as you can convince the New Republic to go out there in force to make a stand, no one else in the galaxy will be in danger either."

Luke sighed. He knew he should trust Jadie's visions, but he had visions of his own and he couldn't help but feel that she was in danger. "Jadie, are you telling me everything? Are you going to be safe from these aliens?"

"The Vong," Jadie replied.

Luke cocked his head to the side confused. "What?"

"The name came to me in a vision last night," Jadie replied. "The aliens are called the Yuuzhan Vong."

"Oh," Luke said softly. He focused on Jadie, knowing she was trying to change the subject. "Jadie, answer me. Will you survive the… Vong invasion? I keep having visions of you in danger."

Jadie smiled, "Luke I am in no danger from the Vong… unless you don't get to Coruscant in time to convince the government to send a fleet out there." She got up off the floor and moved to her husband. She wrapped her hands gently around his waist and pulled him into her embrace. "I love you, Luke," she said as she stood up on her toes and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. Luke wrapped his arms around Jadie and took the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

Eventually they pulled away from each other. "I love you too, Jadie." Luke said breathlessly.

"Luke, you need to go," she said sadly.

Luke nodded. He walked over to his children lying on their stomachs on the soft carpet. "Jemma, Owen, you two be good for your mother while I'm gone." He gave both kisses on the forehead before he rose and walked back to Jadie. He picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'll get back a soon as possible," he said as he gave her another lingering kiss. "I love you, Jadie."

"I love you too, Luke." Jadie said as she walked him to the door. The Jedi reluctantly walked out leaving his family behind, making his way down to his ship where Artoo would be waiting for him.

As the apartment door slid closed Jadie sobbed softly. She leaned up against the door; the cool metal pressed against her forehead. Finally she turned and made her way toward the babies.

"It's going to be alright," she said to her two children. "Daddy is going to keep you safe from the Vong." She gave them a sad smile. "And now it is time for me to keep you safe from another threat to our family."

She turned and headed over to the holocomm. She pulled out a communication chip that was given to her earlier and put it into the machine and initiated the call.

Eventually a familiar holographic face appeared. Jadie smiled trying to appear calm so not to raise suspicion, "Mara, can you please come to Nirauan? I need your help. I can't discuss it over the Holocomm, but it is extremely important. And please, don't mention this to Luke."


	22. Chapter 22

_Sector L30, Unknown Region_

An X-Wing floated in space along with half the New Republic fleet and a contingent of battle cruisers from the Imperial Remnant.

Inside the cramped cockpit of the fighter, Luke Skywalker sat awaiting further orders from the Command Ship, _Obi-Wan_. It was difficult bringing together such an awesome fleet without causing panic within the galaxy, but Leia and her advisors managed to pull it off.

Luke had chuckled when he saw the official explanation written by his sister and given to the public for these fleet maneuvers:

 _For the following week, the New Republic will be conducting a Combined-Arms fleet Operation whose purpose is to advance a coordinated approach among the areas of strategy-military, diplomatic, or informational-which often manifest themselves as bureaucratic or institutional barriers to unity of thought and action_.

"While married to your sister, kid, I learned how to decipher political jargonese," Han had said as he held the datapad with the announcement out at arm's length and then turned it to its side for dramatic effect. "I am pretty sure this means we are going to go kick some alien invader butt," he said with a lopsided grin.

Luke had to laugh at how Han always had a way of cutting through the political babble to get to the very heart of the matter. They very well may be starting a war, but for right now, they are going to guise their military movements as a practice drill.

So, under the pretense of war games, an impressive fleet of over one thousand Assault and Interdictor Cruisers, Corvettes, Gunships, Dreadnaughts, Carriers, Battle Dragons and Star Destroyers assembled in sector L30 forming an impenetrable line of defense. In the distance, some as close as 100 kilometers away, was the enemy.

It was easy to see why the alien fleet, as huge as it was, could go undetected until now. His sensors didn't observe any of the usual metallurgy or communication signatures associated with spacecraft. These ships were something completely foreign.

Appearing organic in nature, and they were massive in size, number and variations. Some of the 'spacecraft' were over 800 meters long, and looked like flattened stones with various offshoots extending from its exterior surface. Others were smaller and had rough craggy surfaces with various organic looking arms connecting from the stem and stern of the main body of the craft. From these larger crafts Luke's sensors picked up smaller organic forms, perhaps one or two man fighters, entering and exiting the main bodies of the motherships.

The Jedi Master reached out with the Force, but to his amazement, he could not sense the creatures living within the crafts. It was almost like they were a void within the Force. The last time he had experienced anything like this was in the presence of ysalamiri… or Callista.

Luke shook those thoughts away as his communication panel started blinking. It was a warning communication sent to the enemy fleet from the Defender-class Destroyer _Obi-Wan_. It broadcasted in Basic and repeated in over a dozen of the more prevalent languages within the galaxy. For good measure, the same message was ciphered into various mathematical, pictorial and algorithmic codes that might be decipherable to a completely alien race.

 _Not that it really mattered_ , Luke thought. If Jadie is right, the aliens would not respond to the warning to leave the area. It was action they understood. Luke powered up his shields and lasers; it was time for him and his small squadron of Jedi fighters to start their strafing run.

.

.

"They're leaving!" Leia gasped, as the bridge crew of the command ship let out a cheer. Across the blackness of space, Luke's squadron was also congratulating each other over their private ship frequencies.

Luke sighed in relief, the battle he and his squadron had just fought was brief, but intense. The enemy's technology was formable and Luke knew, if it wasn't for the modifications the Jedi made to their ships because of Jadie's visions, they probably would not have survived the ordeal.

As Jadie had foreseen, the defenses of the alien ships were capable of absorbing energy, but by shooting the lasers in random intervals some of the shots were able to sneak by the Vong defenses. But the most effective weapon in their arsenal was the specialized torpedoes that Jadie had described from her visions.

" _If the enemy can detect incoming projectiles it will be able to destroy them. They are tracking the missiles by sensing the propellant trails. Get rid of that and the bombs will virtually become invisible,"_ Jadie had explained.

Of course, torpedoes without a propulsion system are useless… unless you're a Jedi.

Luke's entire squadron was outfitted with the specialized weaponry. Their torpedoes were stripped of their propellant fuel and replaced with packed baradium—the key ingredient of thermal detonators. When it came to attack the Vong, the Jedi fighters would simply release the torpedoes and guide them to their destination utilizing the Force.

The Jedi torpedoes worked. As far as Luke could see, they were the only torpedoes within the fleet that damaged the alien vessels.

Luke shivered at the thought of going against this alien technology without the benefit of Jadie's visions. It would probably have taken years to develop these weapon improvements, years of bloody war.

After the intense battle, the fleet fell back and waited for the enemy's response. It took what seemed to be an unbearably long time, but eventually Luke noticed movement. The Vong armada was pulling back away from the edge of the galaxy.

Luke reached out with the Force, wanting to ensure the danger to his family and galaxy was truly over. He could see peace in the galaxy, his children, Han, Leia, his nephews and niece, Chewie, everyone… except Jadie.

 _Where in the Corellian Hells is my wife?_ Luke thought panicked.

"Artoo," Luke called to his astromech. "Has the interplanetary Comm silence restriction been lifted yet?"

"Blast!" Luke swore as he read Artoo's response confirming the blackout was still active. "Okay, send a ship-to-ship communication to Leia. Tell her I am skipping the pilot's debrief and heading back to Nirauan. I'll explain later."

He reached out to the Force one more time to try to find Jadie. This time he did catch a flash of her image in a vision—her form moving in the shadows illuminated only by the blades of two lightsabers clashing in the darkness. Luke gasped as he saw a brief flicker of her opponent's face, concealed by the shadows, except for the eyes. Luke expected to see the burning yellow orbs of a Sith staring across time and space at him, but he was shocked when he caught a glimpse of pure evil reflected in hard green eyes.

.

.

Luke arrived to the EOH and quickly berthed in the first docking bay available. Jumping hastily from the cockpit he dashed down to his and Jadie's quarters. He reached out with the Force for his wife and thought he sensed her signature but it felt different and there was an overwhelming sense of sadness and anxiety coming from it.

As he burst through the door of his quarters he immediately gave out a sharp sigh of relief as he could see her back to him through the bedroom door fussing over one of the babies at the changing table.

"Jadie, thank the Force, I thought I lost you," he said while trying to catch his breath. "I had the most horrible vision."

The woman in the room stiffened and then gently picked up the baby and turned to move toward Luke. As she exited into the lit family room, Luke's stomach dropped. "Mara?"

"What are you doing here? Where's Jadie?" he asked as he glanced frantically around the apartment for his wife.

Mara only shook her head, unshed tears glistening in her eyes, "I am so sorry Luke," she said, her voice cracked with emotion. "She's gone."

.

.

_The Planet Centares along the Perlemian Trade Route_

"I think I got enough food to last us a couple weeks," Ensign Jak Connor called out to Jadie as he restocked the shuttle cargo pantries. They had stopped at the planet Centares off of the main trade route to pick up needed supplies after their quick departure from Nirauan.

Connor looked back at Jadie who was fitting a couple box of supplies she had picked up in the rear storage locker. He ran his hand through his wavy hair as he frowned at his friend. "Jadie, are you sure you are doing the right thing?"

Jadie's shoulders slumped, she was grateful that Connor agreed to accompany her, his assistance would be key for her long-term plans, but his incessant questioning was beginning to annoy her.

"It is the right decision," she assured him.

He folded his arms across his chest his lips pressed into a thin line. "It just doesn't seem right, Jadie. It is like you're giving your family over to that other woman!" his voiced raised a bit, and he frowned again, visibly upset.

"I'm not giving away my family, Connor," Jadie stood and faced him, "I'm saving them!" she said sharply, but then stopped and allowed herself to calm down before continuing. "Jak, there is something else out there, something that will be just as destructive as the Vong if I don't stop it right away!" She brought her hands up to rub her temples as a headache started to build behind her eyes. "If I don't succeed I will need Mara there to protect the children. They will need somebody with her particular skills and training to keep them safe."

Her friend let out a resigned breath. "Okay, so are you going to tell me where we are going?"

"I couldn't have told you earlier, I wasn't sure myself until I meditated on it last night."

"So where?"

Jadie hesitated. "Before I tell you, I need to know if you are in this for the long haul. If you're not, then it is best that you don't know my destination. Before you decide I can tell you that you won't be in danger, no matter if you stay or go. You'll make it through this ordeal in all the future threads I see. But if you decide to stay, it will take a long and dedicated commitment on your part. I can accomplish the major goal of my mission without you, but I could use your help with some of the other objectives."

Connor stared into her green eyes as a determined look crossed his handsome face. "Jadie, you know I have always been there for you, and I always will," he said as he walked up to her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. "However, I just don't understand why you didn't ask your husband to accompany you. He is a Jedi Master."

Emotions began to overwhelm Jadie and she struggled to regain her composure. "Yes, he is a Jedi Master," she agreed, "but he is also a man who loves me very dearly, a man who would never let me do what I have to do." She turned away from the man, breaking contact with him.

"Connor, you have to understand that I can't create a future with all the perfect details. I can only look at the various future threads and try to initiate the one that is the best." She looked up at her friend sadly. "Every future line where Luke accompanies me… it turns out badly. We fail because…" Jadie hesitated, "we just fail."

"Jadie," he said quietly, "what do you have to do? Will you be all right?"

She didn't answer but moved to the cockpit and silently slid into the copilot's seat. Following her lead Connor slipped into the pilot's chair and looked at his friend expectantly.

"Jadie?" he prompted her, waiting for an answer. "What do you have to do?"

Jadie turned to him. "I have to rendezvous with one of my clone sisters on the planet Vjun."

"Clone sister?" he gave her a confused look, "you mean Mara?"

"No, one of the other surviving clones, Shira Brie."

Jadie could feel a ripple of shock coming off of Connor through the Force. "I have heard of her," he finally said. "She was one of the Emperor's Hands. Didn't she turn to the darkside?"

"She later became Lumiya," Jadie nodded, "the Dark Lady of the Sith."

"Fierfek," Ensign Connor swore under his breath. "And we will find her on Vjun?"

"Yes, where exactly on the planet I am not sure yet, but it is vital that we find her soon."

"Why?"

Jadie turned to Connor and answered simply, "Because she's pregnant."


	23. Chapter 23

"I can't believe you just let her walk away," Luke exclaimed hotly.

"Well, what exactly was I to do, Luke, stun cuff her to the bed?" Mara shot back. "All this time you're telling me she is a pathfinder, she can see the future. She foresaw the arrival of this alien force and she was right. She tells you how to avoid the invasion, and it looks like she was correct there also. So a few days ago I get a comm from her asking me to come to Nirauan, that it was important. I am thinking my help is needed to stop this invasion. When I get here she tells me another danger popped up and she alone must face it and she needs to leave right away or else a horrible danger will befall the galaxy. What was I to do?"

"You could have contacted me!" Luke shouted.

Mara took a deep breath and released it. "Luke, she said all the futures where you were involved you died or the children died later on. On that point she was very clear. I was not to contact you."

Luke's legs became weak when he heard of the danger to his children and he sat down heavily on his couch. He looked up at his friend, pleadingly. "Mara, did she give you any indication as to where she was going?"

She shook her head. "No, and I even tried to slip past her mental shields, but it was obvious that you taught her well; she was a blank slate to me."

Hanging his head in defeat, "I need to find her," he said softly.

"Luke are you sure that is the right thing to do? Jadie said that—"

"I don't care," Luke yelled in frustration. "I can't let her face this danger alone." He shook his head. "I saw her in a vision, she was in a lightsaber battle with…" he shook his head, "I am not exactly sure with whom," he said thoughtfully, not knowing what the green eyes in his vision meant. He looked up at Mara. "Can you stay here for a while? Watch the kids until I get back or until I can get Leia here?"

"Sure," Mara didn't even hesitate, "anything you need."

.

.

_-One Week Later-_

The harsh acid rain pounded down on the EOH shuttle. It seemed to Jadie like the entire planet was shrouded in gloom. Dark clouds filled the sky and stretched to the horizon and even though it was still hours until sunset, it was almost as dark as night. Jadie and Connor gazed out of the cockpit portal at the craggy cliff ahead. On the top, like something out of a horror holonovel, was a large mansion constructed out of black, worn stone. It appeared to Jadie that all the dwellings on the planet were made out of stone, no doubt due to the acidic rain that ate away at everything it touched.

 _This planet is like death_ , Jadie thought glumly.

She turned to her friend sitting in the pilot's chair. "She's here," she said as she extricated herself from her safety restraints and walked toward the rear of the shuttle.

Connor quickly unbuckled himself and followed. He found Jadie in the shuttle's narrow sleeping cabin strapping on her lightsaber and a small blaster to her hip. Wordlessly, Connor picked up his gear and started preparing for the upcoming confrontation. A hand gently touched his shoulder and he turned to see Jadie staring at him sadly.

"You're not coming with me," she simply stated.

"What do you mean? You're not going to face a darksider alone!" he said adamantly.

"I have to, it's the only way to initiate the future I have selected."

Connor's brow creased. "I don't understand, I thought you said you needed my help."

"I do Jak, but not with Lumiya." She turned away from him and reached down into her carryall bag under her cot, pulling out three heavy flimsiplast envelopes. All were sealed and marked on the outside with a time, date and location. She stood and handed the large envelopes to the ensign.

"What I need you to do is detailed in these envelopes. Open each one at the exact time and location I specified on the envelopes. On the inside will be information on what you need to do." She gave Connor a pleading look. "Jak, you have to promise me you won't open the envelopes before the time specified. They symbolize the three important divergent points on this future I selected. I need you to follow the instructions in the envelopes exactly… or things won't go as I planned."

Connor stared intently at Jadie, "What _do_ you have planned?"

Jadie looked away for a moment, "I am going to save my family and save the galaxy from a whole lot of hardship." She turned back to Connor and looked into his warm brown eyes. "Jak, can you imagine what would happen if a Sith became a pathfinder? It would be worse than Palpatine. And the first person she would want to get rid of would be me, the competition. The next would be anybody else who would get in her way, now or in the future."

"Luke… the Jedi." Connor ventured.

Jadie nodded. "And my children… especially Jemma."

Connor frowned, "Why Jemma?"

"Because, it seems that my gift will be inherited down through the female line."

Connor rubbed his hands over his eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just stay here for now. The first envelope for you to open is in two hours. Just follow the instructions inside. Everything you will need to complete the mission is in the supply trunk in the back," Jadie said softly.

She pulled on a light jacket and cinched up the hood over her head. "Remember don't open the envelopes until the time and location indicated," she reminded Connor then walked up to her friend and gave him a warm hug.

"Goodbye," she said somberly and then quickly turned and walked down the shuttle exit ramp and made her way up a narrow trail leading up to the dark chateau.

Connor watched his friend until she disappeared in to the shadows. He depressed the ramp close button and secured the locks.

"I don't like this at all," he whispered to himself as he started to pace the length of the shuttle nervously.

After about an hour he started to look at his chrono at an almost neurotic frequency. He wanted more than anything to rip open the envelopes and find out what was going on. He lifted up the first envelope up off the desk in the cabin. Looking at his chrono, he had another 45 minutes to go. He turned it over and moved to open the seal, but stopped. He sighed as he put the envelope back down.

Jadie trusted him, he needed to trust her.

Turning, he left the sleeping compartment trying to put some distance between him and the envelopes that seemed to call out to him and found himself at the back of the shuttle by the supply trunk. Jadie told him he couldn't open the envelopes early, but she didn't say anything about the trunk… except that everything he would need to complete his first task was inside.

He knelt down in front of the footlocker and pulled open the clasps and raised the lid. Inside were two medium size boxes. He reached down and pulled open the lid of the first one. Inside there appeared to be canned food items. He reached down and pulled out a one-liter can and held it up to the overhead light so he could read the label.

"What the kriff?"

.

.

 

Blurred figures circling each other in Luke's inner eye resolved into the forms of two women. One, black-clad with her face partially hidden, he did not recognize. The other was his wife.

" _It doesn't have to be this way. You can come back with me. Your child can grow up to be a great Jedi," Jadie implored her adversary._

" _Jedi!" a female voice spat from the shadows. "My son will become the most powerful Sith Lord this galaxy has ever known! He will surpass the legacy of Palpatine! He will be emperor!"_

_"You would rather your son become another Palpatine, to have the darkside rot him from the inside out? Is that what you, his mother, truly desire… is that what his father wants for him?"_

" _Father!" the words were a snarl, "The father does not exist!"_

The sound of a lightsaber igniting brought Luke Skywalker out of his Jedi trance with a jolt, his breathing heavy and brow dripping with sweat. He shifted in the seat in his X-Wing uncomfortably.

"Force!" he cried out in frustration. He had been using his hyperspace downtime to meditate, hoping to find any clue as to his wife's location. Unfortunately, although he continued to have visions of his wife fighting some unknown opponent, he was no closer to finding her than he had been a week ago. The only thing he was sure of now was that his wife's adversary was female.

Since Jadie's disappearance, Luke had scoured every major spaceport and space station for any sign of her. Once, while near the planet Ossus he thought he sensed her nearby, but the contact was fleeting and he could not say for sure it was actually her he felt through the Force.

He was positive that his wife was consciously shielding herself from him. That was upsetting, but at least he knew she was alive. His bond was Jadie was strong and he was positive if that connection was ever severed, he would know it.

Artoo notified him they were about to exit hyperspace into the Nirauan system. Luke sighed, although he desperately wanted to find Jadie, he really needed to check on his children.

.

.

Upon entering his apartment he found Mara sitting on the couch, baby bottle in hand, feeding Owen. Despite his depressed state, he had to smile. He would never be able to repay Mara for all her help. Leia had offered to come and care for the children, but Mara demurred.

Mara's explanation was that with Leia quietly instructing Core Intelligence to keep an eye out for somebody looking just like Mara, if Mara actually went off planet, she would probably be picked up in a Law Enforcement sweep within a day. That was her official explanation, but Luke couldn't help but feel Mara's reasoning was more personal- she was worried about the babies and didn't trust anybody else to watch over them.

So Leia led a coordinated effort to find Jadie though her various political, military and intelligence ties to the government, Han and Chewie were roaming around the galaxy in the _Falcon_ looking for clueswhile Luke and Artoo went from spaceport to spaceport searching for Jadie Skywalker.

After a week of no sign, Luke returned to Nirauan, wanting to ensure his children were all right.

"Any leads?" Mara asked as Luke walked though the door to his suite.

Luke shook his head. "No, and what is more frustrating is I cannot even sense her. She's hiding her presence from me." He dropped his carryall bag on the floor and sat down next to Mara. Owen was greedily sucking down the formula in the bottle. Luke reflected that it was pretty convenient that Jadie decided to wean the babies a couple weeks before she disappeared. It was obvious to him now that Jadie had been aware of this 'unknown' danger for quite some time.

"She'll come back. After she does whatever she needs to do, she'll come back to her family," Mara offered.

"I think if there is anyway possible for her to return to her children, she will," Luke agreed.

"And to you," Mara corrected.

Luke simply nodded. "Is Jemma sleeping?" he asked.

"Finally," Mara groaned. "She was up almost all night. Colicky, I think."

"I will never be able to thank you enough." Luke smiled at Mara.

"It's okay, Luke, I want to help. I'm worried about Jadie also," Mara paused, "are you still having the same vision?"

Luke nodded. "Her in a lightsaber duel."

"Do you see who wins?"

He shook his head. "No, but the future is always in motion…"

"Unless you learn how to control it," Mara added. "Luke, I'm sure Jadie will be alright. She can pick a future she wants. Why would she pick a future where she would be in danger?"

Luke thought about it for a moment. "She would do anything to protect the children. She would even…" Luke stopped in mid-sentence, gasping for air as he slipped off the couch and down to his knees.

"Luke!" Mara yelled as she kneeled down next to him while still gripping a now sobbing Owen in her arms. In the distance Luke could hear Jemma in the bedroom wailing hysterically. He knew that the twins felt the same disturbance in the Force that he did. He turned to Mara and he could see in her eyes that she knew also.

Jadie Skywalker was dead.


	24. Chapter 24

"Thanks for hurrying over," Mara said as she let Han and Leia into Luke's apartment.

As they entered both gave Mara a consoling hug. "I am so glad you were here when it happened, Mara. What would we have done without you?" Leia said sincerely, realizing her family would be forever indebted to this woman. "How are you holding up?"

"The kids and I are fine, it is Luke that I am worried about."

Mara had called the couple in a near panic, informing them of Jadie's suspected death and Luke's sudden and alarming descent into depression. Leia was extremely concerned over her brother's mental state. It took him years to get over Callista leaving, what would the death of his wife do to him?

"Where is he?"

"He locked himself in his office down the hall." Mara replied as she pulled the key out of her pocket and handed it over to Leia. "I got the pass key from security, but I am not sure seeing me is the best thing for him right now."

Leia agreed, seeing a woman who looked identical to his wife probably wouldn't be a welcomed sight to the Jedi under the circumstances.

"His office is the third door down on the right," Mara said while pointing in the direction of the office.

"I'll try to talk to him," Leia said quietly as she slipped out of the suite and down the hall.

Upon opening Luke's office door she was immediately struck by the smell of liquor and stale food.

She peaked into the dimly lit office, a small desk lamp providing the only light to the room. Leia ran her hand along the interior wall until she found the overhead light panel. As she flicked on the lights she heard a groan coming from the direction of a small couch.

Leia moved forward and found Luke lying on his back, clad only in a stained undershirt and black boxer-briefs, one bare leg hanging over the armrest of the couch while another flopped over the side with a foot resting on the floor. He had an arm draped over his eyes, shielding them from the offending brightness. "Turn off the lights," he moaned.

Shocked at the overwhelming feeling of pain and despair radiating from her brother through the Force, she moved toward him and almost tripped over something on the floor. Leia reached down and picked up an empty whiskey bottle.

"Luke," she said softly "getting drunk isn't the answer." She placed the bottle over on his desk and then went over and grabbed her brother's arms pulling him up into an upright sitting position.

He looked a mess, his hair pointing in all directions, his skin pale, and his eyes puffy and bloodshot from either drinking or crying. _Most likely both,_ Leia thought.

"I'm not drunk," Luke mumbled, obviously picking up on her thoughts. "I had two drinks and then threw the bottle across the room."

Leia sat down next to him on the couch and put a comforting arm around his shoulder. "Luke, I know how devastating this must be for you, but you have to be strong for your children. You can't cut yourself off from your family."

"I know, I know," Luke said, his voice deep with emotion. "I just…" he looked up at his sister, his light blue eyes displaying a vulnerability she had not seen in years.

"Why does this always happen?" he asked, his words almost a sob. "Why does something horrible happen to everybody I love? Jem and Gaeriel died. Callista lost her Force ability. And now Jadie, my wife… the love of my life." Luke buried his head in his hands, tears falling between his fingers.

"Luke, we live in a dangerous galaxy. It has nothing to do with you. Those women loved you and their lives were better for having known you."

"I don't know what I am going to do without her." He turned and wrapped his sister in a tight hug. "I can't do it alone."

"Luke, you will never be alone," Leia comforted her brother. "You have me and Han here with you and Mara has yet to leave your side."

Luke nodded as he wiped the tears from his face. "I don't even know where she died. I don't have a body for the funeral pyre. I don't know what happened."

Leia was silent, not knowing what to say to ease his pain. She hugged her brother again, trying to lend him whatever comfort she could provide. They sat there for a long while before there was a soft rap on the office door. Leia looked up to see Han poking his head into the office. "Sorry to disturb you, but a message just came through from security. A shuttle piloted by an Ensign Connor has just entered Nirauan air space."

.

.

Luke's legs seemed to lose their strength as he approached the small shuttle. He began to sink to his knees before two slender but surprisingly strong arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back to his feet. Luke turned and found Mara's sad green eyes staring back at him. "We're here with you, Luke. You can do this."

Luke nodded numbly and with Mara's help he walked the rest of the distance to the shuttle. Leia followed close behind, with Han taking up the rear, pushing a double stroller with Luke's children.

Ensign Jak Connor stood at the top of the shuttle loading ramp looking nervous. Upon seeing Luke his look went from nervousness to one of dread.

Luke glared at the young man, his soul a swirl of embroiled emotions. He wasn't sure what he felt toward Connor. Luke knew he wanted to hate him for helping Jadie leave her family and go to her death. Hate was one emotion that seemed to boil to the surface often in the last few days. He hated himself for leaving Nirauan when he had sensed the danger to Jadie, he hated the fact that Mara enabled Jadie to leave on her fatal mission, and he wanted to hate this young man for being here alive when his wife was dead.

Hate was of the darkside.

He knew that deep in his heart he couldn't blame anybody for what happened. Jadie was a grown woman and she made her decision. He just wished things could have turned out very different.

Seeing Luke's gaze upon him, Ensign Connor squared his shoulders, as if preparing himself for a difficult task, and marched down to the floor of the docking bay to where Luke, Han, Leia and Mara stood expectantly, not stopping until he was standing before Luke.

"Commander," he acknowledged Luke sadly as he held out to him a small bundle of clothing. Placed on top of the bundle was a familiar object: Jadie's lightsaber.

"This is all I could recover," Connor said softly. "There was no body."

' _Jadie is one with the Force_ ,' Luke thought solemnly as he took the proffered items from Connor.

"What happened Connor?" he asked choking back the tears, fearful that he wouldn't be able to handle the answer.

"She went up against Shira Brie."

"Shira Brie!" Luke head jerked up to stare at Connor. "You mean Lumiya! Why?"

"She was about to become a pathfinder." Connor said simply.

Luke shook his head. "How could that be? She was more machine than woman, with half of her body replaced with cybernetic parts."

Connor shrugged his shoulders. "Obviously not all of her organs were replaced. Or maybe she had cloned organ replacements."

Luke shook his head. "Why did Jadie leave without me? If Lumiya was a danger to this family, we should have faced it together."

Connor reached into his pocket and pulled out a small Holoprojector. "She asked me to give this to you."

Luke reached forward and took the projector with trembling hands. Part of him wanted to turn it on right now but another dreaded what he would find. So he simply turned it over and over again in his hands.

"She said it would explain everything." Connor looked up at Mara. "Miss Jade, I have something for you also."

"Me?" Mara said, confused, looking at Luke who could only shrug.

Conner turned and walked back up the ramp and disappeared into the shuttle. After a short wait he came back down the ramp with another small bundle wrapped in cloth. He moved to Mara and placed the object into her arms.

Mara stared down in shock to see a small human baby swaddled in soft fabric.

"It is Lumiya's baby," He explained. "I found Lumiya's body and Jadie's…" he motioned to the lightsaber and clothing, "… remains in the main hall of the house. "It appears they…" Connor's voice hesitated for a moment. He closed his eyes and fought to contain his emotions. Finally he began again. "It appears they died on each other's lightsabers." Connor said as he roughly slapped away a tear running down his cheek with the back of his hand.

"I found the baby in a small bedroom. There was nobody else in the home… no indication as to who the father was." He ran his hand through his hair nervously. "The baby is the reason Jadie wanted me to accompany her. She wanted to make sure he would be all right. She left written instructions for me as to where to find him. She even secretly stocked the shuttle with formula and diapers."

"Why give him to me?" Mara asked her voice taking on a tinge of panic.

Connor cocked his head to the side. "Well, in a way, genetically speaking, you are his mother."

.

.

 

Luke didn't return to his quarters with his family. He instead returned to his office for some privacy. His sister had started to object, concerned that Luke was going to once again seclude himself from his family, but Luke held up the holoprojector and she nodded, understanding he needed to be alone.

He walked into his office, for the first time noticing the overpowering odor of spilt whiskey and spoiled food. He went over to his office window and cracked it open to let in some fresh air. He walked over to his desk, kicking aside some discarded ration containers lying on the ground along the way.

He sat down and set the Holoprojector on the desk in front of him. For a full five minutes all he did was stare at the inert projector, still dreading turning it on. He knew it probably contained the last words his wife would ever say to him and he didn't know how he would handle it.

Finally he reached over and activated the device. The image of his wife shimmered and sprang to life above the projector. She was wearing what looked like a loose-fitting flight suit and the image appeared to be taken in a spaceship, most likely the shuttle that Connor returned in.

"Luke…"

It was the only word she was able to get out before her voice faltered and she visible struggled to rein in her emotions.

She looked down, composing herself, and then she tried again.

" _Luke… first of all I want you to know how much I love you and the children. If I had seen any future whatsoever that would let me stay with my family and have them safe… I would have taken it. But it was not an option. As I told Connor, I cannot make a perfect future, I can only pick one from the choices available. And the Jadie/Luke happily-ever-after was not one of the choices offered."_

" _As Connor no doubt told you, I foresaw Lumiya becoming a pathfinder and her son a powerful Sith Lord. She would eventually seek to destroy anybody who would stand in the way of her son's quest to become the next emperor. If I waited to confront her, in some of the future threads I prevail, but at too great a cost. I lose you and the children. There was only one future where you and the children survive and Lumiya and her son are stopped… and that was the one I chose."_

Jadie paused for a moment. _"The child is an innocent. Raised away from his Sith mother I see him becoming a powerful Jedi, just like our children."_

There was another pause, this one so long that Luke thought the message was over, until Jadie resumed talking. " _I am so sorry, Luke. I wish I could have found another way. But at least I will die knowing that my husband and children will live and have a long and prosperous life. Knowing that, I will die happy. Goodbye, my love. Kiss the babies for me… goodbye._


	25. Chapter 25

A few years had passed since the sensational news of Luke's love life and family hit the holopresss. The story was that Jadie was Mara's sister, discovered long ago, but kept quiet since she didn't want to be caught up in an obviously painful situation of her family. Through Mara, though, she met Luke, and the two fell in love and got married.

After Jadie's untimely death due to a tragic shuttle accident, Luke decided to reveal all.

But that wasn't even close to how the holopress tried to spin it around, but the Skywalker/Solo family ignored it as best they could.

The point is, they were still a family, and while the pain would never go away at their loss, at least now it had died down to a dull ache.

.

.

_Location: BlazeN Blasters—Children's' eating establishment and family fun center, Coruscant._

"Can it get any louder in here?" Han yelled at Leia over the din of hundreds of video and hologames and an equal amount of small children running about, screaming on the top of their lungs.

_Blaze N Blasters_ was one of the most popular kid's restaurants on Coruscant, specializing in various kid-friendly foods from across the galaxy. This particular restaurant sported dozens and dozens of booth seats interspersed between the various hologames of the establishment's gaming center. Also in the restaurant was a small dance floor, where, currently, a dozen or so young children were hopping up and down to the music as they tried to hug or get their holo taken with some unlucky employee wearing a large gray Womp Rat suit.

"What's that supposed to be?" Han asked Leia as they sat at one of the many booth seats surrounding the madness.

"That's Bucky the Womp Rat," Leia glanced past Han to where he was pointing, "the restaurant's mascot."

Han gave her a look, "So can you explain to me the reasoning behind having a large, hairy, disease-ridden, vermin to represent an eating establishment?"

"I don't know," Leia laughed, "but the kids love him. Can you believe Luke's twins are four-years-old today?"

"Yeah," he smiled, "it seems like yesterday that we held them for the first time," he then looked around, "where is Luke anyway?"

"I'm not sure. The last time I saw him he was bringing Owen to the 'fresher."

Han nodded. "I will take a walk around to see if I can find him."

Slipping out of the booth, the Corellian pilot elbowed his way through the throng of sugar-buzzed youngsters, when he found a very concerned looking Mara Jade staring up at the ceiling.

"What's going on, Jade?" Han asked gazing up also.

"I'm looking for Ben," she said, sounding a bit anxious. "He followed his cousins up into that plastic pipe maze on the ceiling and now I am not sure where he is. I can sense his presence up there, but I think he's lost."

Han looked up at the ewok-size tunnel maze bolted to the ceiling. It was very similar to the small tunnel systems his son Jacen used to keep his small pets in while at the Jedi Academy.

"Well," Han uttered, "if he's lost, you can go up there and get him. Don't look at me to run to the rescue. I'd probably get stuck and the emergency squad would have to come and cut me out. That would make great fodder for the press."

"Mom!" the voice of a young boy could be barely heard over the noise of the restaurant.

Mara looked up expectantly, searching for the source.

"Mom!" the call came again.

"Where is he?" Mara said impatiently.

"There!" Han said while pointing up and to the right where three-year-old Ben Jade stood at the opening of one of the plastic tubes balancing himself precariously over a 6-foot drop.

"Watch this, Mom!" he called out before he jumped off the ledge.

Mara could only gasp as her adopted son landed headfirst into a pit of plastic balls and then slowly sunk down under the synthetic orbs. After a few seconds he reappeared laughing hysterically.

"Stang!" Mara exclaimed as she sat down into the nearest booth seat available. "That boy will be the death of me. He truly is a son of a Sith," Mara said in obvious jest, the love in her eyes for her son being all too apparent.

Han chuckled as he sat down across from her. "That may be, but I think you have a soft spot for sons of Sith," he said as he nodded toward the 'fresher where Luke and Owen just exited.

Mara blushed slightly, turning away from Han. "Maybe."

"You know, there is something I always wanted to ask you," Han said seriously. "Why did you name him Ben? You never knew the old man."

Mara was silent and Han thought she wasn't going to answer. "I didn't name him after Kenobi," she finally said. "That day Connor brought the baby to me, I was terrified. I really didn't think I was ready to be a single mother or if I wanted that obligation at all. Luke offered to take the baby, but that felt wrong in the Force."

She paused for a moment to check the location of her son, seeing he was okay, she continued. "That night I meditated on it, and I saw… I am not sure if it was a vision of the future or a vision of a possible future, but I saw a young man and me—a handsome young man with blue eyes and fiery red hair. In that vision I called him Ben. He turned to me and," Mara hesitated briefly, "… he called me 'Mom'."

"So, it was a Force thing?" Han asked.

Mara turned to him, "I don't know if it was all the Force," she said as a slight smile graced her lips. "When I held Ben in my arms for the first time… It felt right. It was almost like things were now the way they should be in the galaxy… or, at least, getting there."

Han gave her a confused look, "What do you mean by 'getting there'?"

"I don't know exactly, it just seems like…" Mara shook her head, "like something is still missing."

Smiling he knew exactly what was missing from Mara's life. "I think the only thing missing from your life is a certain Jedi Master."

Mara didn't react in the normal hostile manner he expected but instead sighed sadly, "Han, that's not going to happen. Luke is still trying to overcome the loss of his wife. And since we disclosed to the public he was married to my younger sister, how would it look if he started dating me?"

"You two need to stop worrying about the press," the Corellian rolled his eyes and scoffed, "I mean how much worse could the gossip get anyway? There are already rumors that Ben is really Luke's child. You've read the holozines!"

"Oh yeah," Mara groaned, "those reporters have some imaginations." Mara sat back in her seat as she started counting off on her fingers the various sleazy holoreports involving her and the parentage of her son. "First it was said that Ben was fathered by Luke after a torrid affair, then there is a report that Ben is actually the son of Talon Karrde, another blames Face Loran, Ghent, Aves, and even Lando!" Mara said and then started laughing, "I am surprised Jacen and Anakin haven't been dragged into this mess."

"Well, they are still a bit young and you are technically a part of this family now," he tried to look as if he was seriously contemplating the concept, but then laughed. "Even gossip holozine reporters aren't creepy enough to insinuate you were having an affair with an underage family member."

Laughing, "My favorite pairing was when the _Galactic Exaggerator_ reported that Ben was the love child of Wolf Drake."

Han was a fan of Wolf Drake; he was the number one holo action hero and voted the most handsome human in the galaxy… at least according to _Celebrity_ Holozine. Han wasn't too sure about the accuracy of that particular publication since he barely made the top twenty on that list.

"Yeah, I read that report about you and Wolf. Have you even met the man?" Han asked.

Mara shook her head, "Sadly, no."

"I wonder how that rumor started?" Han said.

Mara gave him a self-satisfied look, "It was costly, but a bribe here, a bribe there…"

Han burst out in laughter, "You started that one?"

Mara smiled smugly.

"You are too much, Jade," Han laughed.

"The way I figure, if the reporters are scurrying around trying to figure out who the father is, they won't look too closely to the fact that I never appeared pregnant."

"Yeah," Han said as he sat back in his seat, "I wonder why they never picked up on that?"

Mara shrugged. "I am not in the public eye enough for them to know for sure. I claimed that I had Ben on ship in Wild Space and registered the birth on the planet Lamaredd. The locals on that planet are not known for their paperwork accuracy or accountability. And if Ben's maternity ever comes into question, I will submit to a DNA test. As Connor once told me, genetically speaking, I am his mother. But I don't think it will ever come to that. The press is rapidly losing interest in this story."

"Mom! Mom! Mommmy!" Ben yelled as he ran up to Mara interrupting her conversation with Han. Mara turned in her seat so she could scoop up the toddler in her arms.

"What do you need, Ben?" she said as she gave the boy a gentle squeeze and a kiss on his forehead.

"I need more credit tokens."

"What!" Jade said shocked, "I just gave you 50 credits worth! What did you spend them on?"

The boy looked a bit embarrassed, "I used them trying to get to the end of the trench run hologame. Owen says he will always beat me because Uncle Luke is his Dad and blew up real the Def Star." The young boy blurted out, mangling the name of the space station in the process.

"Oh he said that, huh?" Mara said as she dug into her pockets for more tokens. She handed her son a fist full and then packed his pockets with some more. "Now you go and beat your cousin's high score, and Ben," she lowered her voice, "the trick is you have to turn off the targeting computer before you get to the end and make your shot." She gave the boy a wink. "Before you go back, do you need to go potty?" she asked in a hushed tone. The little redheaded child shook his head. "Okay, go take on that trench run," she said as she sent him off. "And remember to use the Force, Ben," she called out to him, "It will be cheaper that way," she muttered with a chuckle.

Mara turned to find Han grinning at her. "What?"

"Oh nothing," Han drawled, "it's just I never thought I would ever hear the dangerous former Emperor's Hand say _do you need to go potty_?" Han laughed.

The former assassin gave him a tight smile. "I am often surprised by some of the things I have said in the past three-and-a-half years… words I never thought would be coming out of my mouth. Like, 'Ben! Don't lick the screen door!' or 'No! We don't eat tartiki bugs in this family.'"

"I know how it is, Jade. Raised three of them myself," Han chuckled as he rose out of his seat. "I'm going to track down Luke, oh, remember, bring Ben over to the house after this."

"Don't worry, Solo. I won't turn down a night child-free," she said happily.

Han left Mara's company and made his way across the restaurant to where Luke was sitting.

"Hey, Kid," Han said as he slipped into the seat across from the Jedi.

"Hey, Han," Luke said with a smile, "just making sure the twins don't cause too much havoc."

Han looked over to where Owen and Jemma were riding a landspeeder contraption that moved up and down and vibrated to simulate the movement of a real speeder. At the front of the vehicle was a camera and halfway through the ride a 2D digital photograph of the passengers popped out. Luke sat at the table with at least a dozen grainy photos of the twins mugging at the camera.

"You sure you really want to take them off my hands for the night?" Luke asked Han.

"Sure kid, and don't worry, Leia and I won't be alone. Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin promised to help out tonight. They love their little cousins. And if they get too out of hand I have Chewie and the Noghri as back up."

"I don't know if that will be enough," Luke laughed. "I'll tell you, Jemma and Owen are really excited about having a sleepover at their Aunt and Uncle's house."

"Well, I think it is about time you and Mara got some free time away from the kids. You both should get out, see a movie that doesn't involve furry animated ewoks," Han paused, "maybe have a sleepover of your own."

"Han," Luke sighed, "I know you and Leia are concerned about me getting on with my life," Luke said quietly, "but I…" Luke appeared to struggle for the words. "Dating so soon seems wrong, it's like I am disrespecting Jadie's memory and the sacrifice she made for her family." Luke ran his fingers through his short blond hair his face twisted in grief for his lost love. Han mentally kicked himself for causing his brother-in-law such pain, but how many years was he going to let his grief paralyze him?

"Luke," Han said softly, "Do you think this is what Jadie wanted? Do you think she wouldn't want you to find love again? Do you think she would want your children to grow up without a mother?"

Luke fidgeted in his seat looking exceedingly uncomfortable. "Han, things are not that simple, especially with Mara," he finally said, pausing before continuing again, "Han, Jadie once accused me of marrying her to replace Mara. Mara accused me of marrying Jadie to replace her. If I start a relationship with Mara it would be like they were right. I start off with one and end up with the other." Luke said as he squeezed the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"But you asked her to marry you, kid, twice," the older man pointed out. "You had to have had feelings for her."

"I did, once, but she wasn't interested, and there was Jadie…" he shook his head in confusion, "besides, Mara still isn't interested."

"What!" Han blurted out in disbelief. "Luke, if Mara signaled her interest in you any clearer they would be able to see it from space!"

"You don't know what you are talking about," Luke shook his head, "you said yourself this is the woman who turned down my marriage proposal… twice. She isn't interested in me that way."

Han leaned forward across the table and stared intently at Luke. "Kid, I know women and I can guarantee Mara is interested. Why do you think she followed you to Yavin? She's practically living with you!"

"She's not living with me, Han," Luke said mortified. "She is a student at the Academy. She lives in my wing of the dorm because the rooms are a little larger. She needs the extra space because of Ben."

Han nodded, knowing that was only part of the reason. Mara and Luke had been drawing on each other for support for the last three-and-a-half years. They could easily be mistaken as a family, to anyone who didn't know them.

"Luke," Han said quietly, "you and Mara are good for each other. Why don't you go over and ask her out tonight. See a Holo, go to the gardens, the museums, anything. You'll see that I'm right. I may not have the Force, but I am sure she cares for you deeply." Han paused for a moment before he ventured further, "I think it is more than that. I think she loves you… and I think you love her still. Why don't you take a chance to see if there is anything there?"

"And if she doesn't feel that way about me, it could destroy our friendship." Luke said frankly. "I've already lost Jadie, I can't lose Mara as well."

Han sighed wondering if Luke was even aware of the significance of his own words. "Luke, after all you two have been through together in the last twenty years, I don't think expressing your feelings for the woman is going to tear your friendship apart… even if the feelings are unrequited… which they aren't."

The Jedi Master closed his eyes in thought. "Okay," he said reluctantly. "I'll ask her if she wants to go to do something tonight."

"Great," Han said with a broad smile. "I am going to see if they sell any ale at this place."

"This is a kid's restaurant, Han."

"And that's why I need a drink," the Corellian said with a lopsided grin as he stood up. Before leaving he reached over and gave Luke's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Give love another chance, Luke," he said with all sincerity, then turned and made his way up to the beverage counter.

.

.

After Han left, Luke sat silently at his table, keeping an eye on the twins and making furtive glances in the direction of one beautiful redhead across the restaurant.

They had seen each other almost daily in the last three years since Mara came to the Academy to train, but after Luke's talk with Han, he almost felt like a nervous school boy at the thought of asking her out.

This was just so awkward. His wife was Mara's clone, that fact alone couldn't help but color the way he thought about her, and it would affect how he considered any possible relationship with his friend.

Jadie once wondered if he could ever separate the two women in his mind and in his heart. Luke knew he could. He did it with Jadie, he saw her as an individual—the woman he fell in love with and married—not a copy of Mara Jade. Could he make the separation again? Could he be in a relationship with Mara and not think of his wife?

Luke shook his head, realizing he had always seen these two women as distinct individuals. They may have looked the same, but he always saw the differences of their personalities and their souls and he never confused them in his heart. He glanced back up at Mara who was watching her son play a hologame. Luke had to admit he enjoyed her company, but did he want more? Did she? Could he take that step? He wasn't sure.

He had been staring at Mara Jade for some time before he noticed she was looking directly back at him. Once he realized he was caught he blushed and ventured a nervous smile. He was overjoyed when she smiled broadly and then got up to move toward his table.

"Having a good time?" Mara asked as she slid into the seat Han had vacated.

"Yes, I am. This place is amazing. I wish they had restaurants like this when I was growing up. Although I doubt Uncle Owen would have brought me, even if they did." Luke said casually, trying to hide his nervousness. The prospect of asking Mara out had made him fidgety.

"Same here, I somehow doubt I would have ever seen the inside of this type of establishment during my childhood." She said then started laughing.

Luke cocked his head to the side. "What?"

Mara brought her laughter under control. "Could you picture Palpatine and your father here throwing me a Life Day party? I can imagine how that would turn out. My four-year-old self probably would have ended up having to receive extensive psychotherapy after seeing Vader Force-choke Bucky the Womp Rat or Palpatine frying him with Force lightning after the rodent unwisely tried to get the two Sith Lords to do the _Happy, Happy, Happy Life Day_ dance with him."

Luke couldn't help but chuckle at that particular image. And with the laughter his initial unease faded. Han was right. Mara was his friend; nothing was going to change that.

Before he could change his mind, Luke went ahead and put his heart on the line once more. "Ummm… Mara, tonight, after we drop the kids off, would you like to… oh I don't know, would you like to go out and get some caf or something, that is if…"

"I would love to," Mara said quickly and without hesitation.


	26. Chapter 26

"I want to thank you for the presents you gave the kids," Luke was sitting across from Mara at a local caf shop a few blocks down from his sister's apartment. They had just dropped off the children at the Solo's and made quick exit before they could realize their parents were gone and make a fuss. Not that Luke thought that was going to be a problem, Jemma and Owen were particularly attached to their Aunt and Uncle and little Ben appeared to have a bad case of hero worship when it came to his older cousin Jacen.

"I am glad they liked the gifts," Mara replied after a sip of her caf. "Not that I was surprised, Owen and Jemma seemed to go out of their way to hint to me what they wanted. I'm glad, because I never would have thought Jemma would have wanted a stuffed Rancor doll. I was going to buy her something more feminine."

Luke laughed, "In many ways she takes after you, she's more of a rough and tumble type of person."

Mara simply smiled. "And I'm also glad Owen let me know he wanted a model Star Destroyer. Ben wanted to buy him one of those 25 centimeter Luke Skywalker dolls," she smirked expecting Luke to react in his typical shy manner.

"Well, it is a good thing you didn't, we already have one," Luke chuckled.

Mara raised an eyebrow. "Ohhh really," she drawled, "I would think buying a Luke Skywalker doll would go against your humble Farmboy nature."

"I didn't buy it, it was a gift from Rogue squadron," he was quick to point out. "Hobby found some bootleg copies being sold in a pro-rebellion outer rim planet. This was right after I blew up the Death Star. There was a Princess Leia and a Luke Skywalker figure that were made, and Hobby and Wes…." Luke trailed off and this time he did blush, looking away embarrassed.

Mara grinned wickedly, "And?"

Luke rubbed that back of his neck, not meeting Mara's gaze. "And what?" he asked innocently.

The former assassin wasn't going to let him off the hook. "I can sense your embarrassment and I don't think it has to do with you owning a Luke Skywalker doll," she said with a grin, "so fess up."

"Action figure," Luke interjected.

"What."

"It was a Luke and Leia action figure," he corrected, "and I am not embarrassed about that… it was what Hobby, Wedge and Jansen was doing with the figures… plus the fact that I ended up with a sprained ankle that day." He looked down embarrassed. "I am surprised you haven't heard the story."

"Oh please," Mara laughed, "you've got to tell me this story."

Luke sighed and continued the embarrassing tale. "Well, you have to remember, this was way before anybody knew that Leia and I were brother and sister. Hobby and Jansen were…" Luke trailed off for a moment, thinking how to word this, "they were putting on a little skit where Leia and I were talking… and then they had me telling Leia some embarrassing stuff and, well, it went downhill from there."

Mara chuckled covering her mouth with her hand but managed to ask, "How did you sprain your ankle?"

"Well," he blushed an even darker shade of red, "Wedge saw that I was embarrassed, so he confiscated the dolls, I mean action figures, and chewed them out. But then he unzipped the little flight suit the Luke figure was wearing and said to me, ' _Luke, did you know these dolls are anatomically correct?_ ' I was so shocked that I practically jumped over the table to get the toy from him and I ended up spraining my ankle."

Mara burst out in laughter dropping her head to the tabletop and slapping her leg in amusement. "Oh, that is the funniest thing I have heard in a long time."

"The guys felt so bad that they gave me the Luke Skywalker figure as a present," Luke couldn't help but laugh himself.

"So are they?"

"Are they what?" Luke asked.

She snickered, "Are they anatomically correct?"

Luke shook his head exasperated. "No!"

"Just wondering," Mara said smugly as she sipped her caf.

They both sat silently for a moment. Luke shifted nervously in his chair, but then decided to break the silence by broaching a subject that he wanted to talk to Mara about for some time now. "Umm… Mara, in the next few months you will complete your training, have you thought about what you will do then?"

Mara's smile slipped from her face and she bit her bottom lip in thought. "I haven't made any final decision yet," she absentmindedly ran a slim finger around the rim of her cup of caf, "but Karrde did make me a job offer last week."

"Oh," Luke said startled, this was the first he heard of this.

"He just won a major shipping contract with the New Republic and he is looking to have a full time representative on Coruscant," Mara gave him an almost apologetic look. "He wanted to know if I wanted the position since Ben could then go to some of the galaxy's top schools and we would still be around family with your sister and Han and their kids living here."

Luke didn't know what to say as a rising panic seemed to tighten his chest and stole the oxygen from his lungs. He knew things would change when Mara completed her training, but he never let himself consider that she would leave. He was hoping she would take some sort of job at the Academy, not that she would go back to Karrde's organization. But if Luke was totally truthful with himself he had to admit it made sense. Mara had a child to support and working for Karrde would allow her to provide for Ben much better than an instructor at the Academy with a modest stipend from the government.

"Oh," was all that Luke could eventually manage.

"Unless," Mara said softly, "you have other plans for me."

"What?" Luke asked startled.

Mara rolled her eyes, "Well, Luke, I will be a Jedi and you are the Jedi Master in charge of the order," she pointed out.

"Oh," Luke said softly, "well, it is not like a military organization, you are allowed to maintain your profession… if that is what you want." He looked up at her hesitantly. "You are always welcome to stay on Yavin with me," once he said the words he realized how that must have sounded.

"Luke?"

"To teach, " Luke continued, "The academy desperately needs instructors with your skills. You could teach counter espionage, spying techniques, self defense methods."

"Oh," Luke wasn't sure if he heard disappointment in her voice or not, "I will have to think about that," she said softly. She took another sip of her caf and then looked around the café. "Will you excuse me, I have to use the 'fresher,"

"Sure," Luke said, standing as she left the table.

As Mara closed the door of the 'fresher she leaned against the wall dejected, letting out a deep sigh. She moved over to the sink and splashed water over her face and as she looked up to the mirror she gazed into her own sad green eyes.

' _This is becoming too difficult,_ ' she thought frustrated. She really didn't want to leave Yavin… and Luke, but the situation was becoming unbearable. ' _It is like a cruel joke._ '

For years Skywalker had been chasing after her and now she found herself yearning for him, spending sleepless nights in a cold bed, longing and hoping that he would once again venture to start a relationship with her. How did she get herself into this mess?

When she first agreed to come to Yavin it was not only because she had some desire to finish her training, but also because she found raising a baby aboard the _Wilde Karrde_ was far too difficult. When Luke asked her to come to the academy she jumped at the chance to bring some stability to Ben's life and to provide him with better male role models than the hard drinking characters in Talon's employment.

Everything was fine at first, Ben thrived on the jungle moon and truly loved being with his cousins, but the daily contact with Luke caused those nascent feelings she had for Skywalker to blossom into what she was sure was love.

She loved Luke Skywalker and now he wasn't interested in her. Mara scoffed at the irony.

Running her hand through her hair she continued to gaze at her reflection in thought. "I should just leave," she said out loud. She knew the longer that her and Ben stayed with Luke the harder it would be to eventually leave. They both needed to move on with their lives and if it wasn't together, then they should have the space to date other people… and it was obvious that Luke must not be interested even though Mara had done just about everything to let him know she wanted a relationship. The only thing she hadn't done was kidnap him and fly him to Dathomir.

' _No,_ ' Mara thought to herself. ' _The only thing I haven't done is straight out tell him I want a relationship._ '

She straightened out her outfit as she prepared to return to the table. ' _No, I won't do that_ ,' she thought. ' _If I ask him and he rejects me it will make things uncomfortable. I don't want to lose his friendship.'_

When Mara left to use the 'fresher Luke was somewhat relieved. Her comment about Karrde's job offer threw him for a loop as he didn't know what he would do if she left him. He had grown accustomed to having her around him, helping him, raising the children together. They supported each other and were like family to each other. Luke quickly was becoming panicked at the thought of losing her.

Sighing he ran a hand over his face, he may be a Jedi master and Mara soon to be a knight, but that didn't give him authority to make her stay. And really, what did he have to offer her except the austere, and often dangerous, life of a Jedi. Luke shook his head, Mara would be a fool to turn down Karrde's offer.

However, there was the problem of his growing attachment to her. Han was right, he still had feelings for Mara that he long thought had died. Instead, they had simply been filed away in light of his love for Jadie. But with her gone, he was rediscovering his emotions.

And this was the cause of daily anguish for Luke.

He wanted to tell Mara, but he couldn't face her rejection for a third time, and then there was still the problem of guilt. He could still remember that day Jadie found out about Mara and she slapped him… hard. Jadie thought she was a replacement for Mara, and if he started dating the trader, would Mara think he was simply trying to replace his deceased wife? How could he explain to her the complexity of what he felt?

And could he live with the guilt? Would Jadie be looking at him through the Force, denouncing him, sure that her accusations were true, one was merely a replacement for the other?

Luke sighed again, no matter where Mara and Ben go, they were a still part of his family, albeit in an unconventional way, but they were a family nonetheless. He would be selfish to want more.

Mara returned to the table a few minutes later looking uneasy. "It is getting late Luke, I think I should be getting back to my hotel room."

Luke rose from his seat and grabbed his jacket that was hanging on the back of his chair. "I'll walk you to your room," he said with a calmness that he did not feel.

"Sure," Mara replied with a slight smile.

Luke left credits on the table to cover the bill and tip and followed Mara out of the café. They walked in silence back to Mara's Hotel, both seemingly in deep thought. When they finally got to her room, Mara produced a passkey and unlocked the door. She turned and gave Luke a look he couldn't quite recognize.

"Luke," Mara said quietly. "Would you like to come inside for a while," she hesitated for a moment. "We could talk, if you like."

He wanted to tell her yes, to grab her in his arms and tell her how much she means to him, to beg her never to leave, but he couldn't, an overwhelming feeling of guilt washing over him. He couldn't help but feel he would be dishonoring his wife's memory.

"Umm… no, I think I will be getting back to my room." Luke answered reluctantly.

"Oh… okay," this time Luke was sure he heard disappointment in her voice.

"I will see you tomorrow at Leia's when we pick up the kids," he said quickly.

"Yeah," Mara replied and then looked down to the ground, "I guess I will see you then."

"Okay," Luke started stepping backward back toward the lift, "tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Mara said reluctantly as she closed her door. Luke turned and moved into the lift and shook his head. "How can I be desiring Mara so soon after my wife's death? Jadie would be disgusted with my behavior," Luke scolded himself as the turbolift traveled to the ground floor.

The doors opened and Luke quickly moved across the lobby and into the cool night air. He walked in a daze through the Corsucant walkways until he found himself in one of the many small parks that were interspersed throughout the urban planet.

He stopped to look at a statue of an Ithorian holding a large tome in one hand and a large blaster in the other. An inscription at the base of the statue said he was a hero of the Battle of Coruscant during the clone wars: a soldier and senator.

"Master Skywalker?" A voice sounded from Luke's side startling him out of his revelry.

"Connor?" Luke asked, shocked at seeing somebody from Nirauan here. Connor no longer wore the military uniform of the Empire of the Hand, but other than that he looked the same as he did the last time Luke saw him… at Jadie's memorial service.

Connor gave Luke a wide smile and moved forward to shake Luke's hand and clasp his shoulder with his free hand. "It is so good seeing you Master Skywalker," his greeting was warm.

"It is good to see you also, Connor. What have you been up to?"

"Well, I left the Empire of the Hand at the end of my enlistment contract and I started my own company. We provide security for people—dignitaries, celebrities, CEOs, and sometimes even NR military if they are going into an area and want to maintain a low profile. It pays a lot more and I now have more flexibility of movement."

"That sounds great," Luke said and then furrowed his brow in thought. This seemed like too much of a coincidence- Connor and Luke meeting in the most densely populated planet in the galaxy. "Is that why you are here? Security job?"

Connor's broad smile slipped a bit and his face became more serious. "No," he said slowly, "I am here to fulfill a promise I made to a friend almost four years ago."

Luke could sense the change in Connor's demeanor. "What do you mean?"

Connor sighed. "Commander… I mean Master Skywalker," Connor corrected himself, "remember when I said Jadie left me written instructions about finding Lumiya's son?"

Luke nodded.

"Well, she left me more than one envelope with instructions. I was to open them at the time and location she specified on the outside of the envelope. She asked me to follow the instructions inside the envelope to ensure the future she picked stayed on tract during its many divergent points."

Luke felt like his breath froze in his lungs. "And?" he was finally able to choke out.

"And one of her envelopes said I was to be here at this time and place. I would see you and I was to give you this," Connor said as he handed Luke a piece of flimsiplast folded in half.

Reaching out and taking the note with trembling hands he unfolded it and quickly recognized his wife's handwriting. There scrawled on the white flimsi was a short message:

**_Luke, we loved each other and always will. We had our time together and you filled my short life with happiness. I want you to be happy again. Please don't give up on the chance to love._ **

Luke felt as if his mouth had dried up and he had trouble swallowing. He looked up with tear rimmed eyes at Connor. "Did you read this?"

Connor flushed with embarrassment. "Yes," he admitted reluctantly.

Nodding his head silently, not knowing what to say, Luke read it over again.

"We talked a lot after we left Nirauan," Connor added quietly. "She really loved you, Master Skywalker. I don't know exactly your situation now, but if she is talking about Mara, I want you to know that Jadie talked about Mara fondly in the couple weeks we were together before her death."

Luke nodded again, unable to talk. Getting a message from his beloved wife filled him with overwhelming emotions, many of which he didn't understand. "Thank you Connor."

"I am honored to help, Master Skywalker. It was great seeing you again, but I have to get back to Kuat where I am supposed to be providing security for a member of the Royal family in a few days."

Connor turned and walked off as finally Luke pulled himself out of his stupor. "Connor, wait!"

The young man turned and looked at Luke. "Yes?"

"You said there was more than one envelope. Is this the last one?"

Connor smiled. "No, there is another. But I am not to open it for a few years. Perhaps we will meet again." With that the young man turned and strolled off into the shadows.

Luke watched the former ensign until he was out of sight. He then went back and read and reread the letter from his wife as he walked out of the park and then through the winding pathways of the city. He thought he was walking the streets randomly as he contemplated his wife's words, so he was surprised to find himself outside of Mara's hotel room.

' _This couldn't have been a coincidence on Jadie's part. It couldn't be a general letter to tell me it was okay to get back to the land of the living. Jadie was trying to tell me it was okay for me to date Mara specifically. It had to be_ ,' he thought. _Why else here? And now?_

He stared at Mara's door as his hand slowly went up to knock, but then stopped a few centimeters from actually striking the door.

' _What the hell am I going to say to her_ ," Luke thought panicked. ' _Hi, Mara, my dead wife gave me a permission slip allowing me to start a relationship with you, so to you want to start one?_ ' Luke rolled his eyes. That sounded so pathetic.

He started to turn to leave when the door opened. "Luke?" a concerned voice called out.

Luke turned to face Mara, already her hair down and body wrapped in a robe for bed. He felt like an idiot, even if he wanted a relationship, even if he could follow his wife's advice, Mara still had a say in all of this.

"I uh… I'm sorry, I will talk to you tomorrow," Luke stuttered. He turned to leave, but a petite but strong hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Luke." Mara whispered, her eyes staring at him full of compassion. "Why don't you come inside. I think we have a lot to talk about."

"We do," he answered just as quietly, following Mara's lead into the reception area of the hotel room.

"Luke," Mara started, "I can't stay with you on Yavin."

"Why not?" was his quick retort, and he immediately mentally kicked himself for sounding like his children.

"It would make things more complicated," she seemed to struggle with the words, "I should do what's best for Ben."

A sinking feeling started in his chest and fell into knots in his stomach, first he lost Jadie and now he was losing another woman he loved, yes, loved, he could admit that now. He loved both women equally. "Mara, I can't tell you how to live your life, but please, don't go."

"What is there to stay for?" it was almost a challenge.

"Mara," he moved just close enough to reach out and gently touch her cheek, "you know I loved my wife."

"Yes," she held her head up as she answered.

"Funny thing about love," he moved slightly closer, embolden by the words of his wife, "is that it never dies."

"I know," Mara whispered and for a moment he though she would flee from him but he had to go through with this, now or never.

"Never dies, Mara," and in a sudden bout of Skywalker recklessness he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to hers, only receiving a second of hesitation before she returned it with passion, revealing her own emotions.

When they finally pulled apart, there was a mix of horror and joy on her face as she touched her fingers to her lips. "Can we do this?"

"I never stopped loving you, Mara," Luke confessed, "but my love for Jadie took over and I would have happily spent my life with her… but that's not to be, and I've come to be reminded that you still hold a place in my heart, that is, if you are willing to accept it this time."

Now was the moment of truth, whether or not he was going to be crushed again by the woman in front of him.


	27. Epilogue

Epilogue:

One year later

The wedding party filled the Diamond level grand reception hall located deep in the bowels of Booster Terrik's personal ship, the _Errant Venture_. The bright red, one-and-a-half kilometer long Star Destroyer, currently drifted in orbit high above the urbanized world of Coruscant and was the location of what many considered "The Wedding of the Century".

"It was a beautiful ceremony," Leia gushed as she gave her brother a warm hug.

"Thank you Leia," Luke said softly as they pulled apart. "We want to really thank you for all your help in the preparations."

"Anything for you, Luke," Leia replied warmly and then shifted her attention to the woman next to him, "and you, Mara, I'm so happy for both of you." Leia stepped over to her new sister-in-law. "I know that we have considered you and Ben as part of the family for years now," tears filled her brown eyes, "but I'm so happy that you are now officially part of the Skywalker family."

A few wayward teardrops escaped the eyes of the usually stoic trader as she struggled to regain her composure. "I've never been happier," Mara's voice cracked with emotion as she reached out and embraced her new sister-in-law.

The former Imperial warship was the only place that Luke and Mara could be assured privacy for their wedding and reception. Any location planet-side had the chance of Holo-reporters bribing their way in and causing a commotion. And after the last year of dealing with the press the last thing Luke and Mara wanted were more reporters hounding their every step in their pursuit of the truth. No, that wasn't right, they were relentless for any scrap of scandalous gossip involving Luke and Mara's courtship, not the truth.

Luke turned to his wife and smiled at the thought of their last year together. He fondly recalled that night after the children's birthday party…the night Connor gave him the message from Jadie.

He had returned to Mara's hotel room and put his heart on the line one more time. That was the night they decided to be completely truthful with one another. And so they'd talked. They talked all night and into the early morning hours before they both fell asleep on the couch next to each other, Mara's head propped on Luke's shoulder. Of course, the holonet reporter that tailed him and saw him enter Mara's room that night, reported a whole different story. Luke mentally cringed at the thought of that holo-report. For a month after that story broke Han constantly asked Luke if he and Leia would borrow his stun cuffs and light whip.

Shaking his head, he could have laughed. No, they'd only talked that night, but in a way that was a more intimate encounter than if he took her to bed. For the first time their feelings for each other were completely laid out in the open. He discussed his overwhelming desire to find love again, and his lingering guilt about moving on so soon after his wife's death. He confessed his love for the lovely trader turned Jedi, and his abject fear of her leaving him.

To his surprise, Mara was just as forthcoming with her feelings. She admitted to loving Luke for years, but had feared their situation was now too complicated to make a relationship work.

As the conversation progressed, Luke felt a closeness with Mara that he had not experienced since that horrific day on Nirauan when they had experienced their life altering Force-bond. But this time there was no stress of combat or a Force-melding to account for the closeness. They both realized their bond was from a higher force. They loved each other and probably always had.

Within the week, they were 'officially' courting each other. Mara had decided not to take up Karrde's job offer and returned to Yavin with Luke and the children. Six months later they had announced their engagement, which started a whole new deluge of rumor mongering.

First Ben's parentage was brought into question… again. There was speculation that Luke was really the father and was now doing the right thing. Others wondered if the real father, whether it be Talon Karrde, Wolf Drake, or some other man, would come forward to claim his parental rights over Ben.

And there was a five million-credit bounty on holos of the ceremony itself. With that much money on the line every person with a holocam was looking to crash the Skywalker-Jade wedding. Fortunately, Mara and Luke's good friend Mirax was able to talk her father into lending his ship for the occasion. There were few places more secure than in the center of a starship floating in space.

"Hey, give somebody else a chance to kiss the bride," Han said as he walked up to his wife's side. Leia pulled away from Mara and wiped the tears streaming down her face.

"Mara," was all Han could say before he embraced the former Imperial Hand. "Are things the way they should be in the Galaxy?" he whispered into her ear.

Mara pulled away and smiled up at the older man. "I think they are now, Han. Finally."

"Good," the Corellian gave his patented lopsided grin. "What I don't understand is why, if you are trying to quell rumors, you went and invited Wolf Drake," Han said as he pointed a thumb toward the corner of the reception hall. There, the handsome holo-actor was currently talking with a group of female fans, Han's own daughter Jaina, included.

Mara chuckled, "I didn't invite him, he's a date of one of the invited guests."

Han raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah, who?" He looked over at the various women in attendance.

"Over there at the bar," Mara said with a grin as she pointed to the lone occupant at the refreshment table.

His mouth dropped open, "Isn't that Connor?"

Luke and Mara both chuckled. "He has a full time job as Drake's bodyguard. Anything beyond that… we didn't ask and he didn't tell."

"Well, I guess I won't have to break his legs for flirting with my daughter after all," Han muttered.

Han opened his mouth to say something else but a short elderly woman edged her way past him to hug Mara. "Oh Mara, my little Mara, I am so happy for you."

Mara stiffened slightly at being embraced by a seemingly stranger.

' _Luke, who is this woman_?' Mara silently questioned him.

Luke began to shake his head in confusion when Dr. Bentu came along side the elderly lady. "Jessa honey, don't make a scene during these kids' wedding day."

At that point both Luke and Mara realize this was Dr. Bentu's wife: the woman who raised Mara in her first year of her life outside the cloning chamber, before Mara was pulled from her arms and turned over to Palpatine for training.

"Mrs. Bentu," Mara said softly, returning the hug, "I am so glad to finally be able to meet you." She then pulled away, still clasping the older woman's hands with her own. "After the reception I so want to have a long conversation with you. To find out more about the people who played such an important part in my early childhood."

The elderly woman smiled as she brushed the tears from her face and Mara continued, "Luke told me about how you and the doctor cared for me before I was sent to the emperor. I do have memories of being a child and having parents. I thought they were dead, but I later discovered they were you and your husband." Mara paused to collect her thoughts. "I just want to let you know that even though I don't remember much of that time, it must have made a difference. Because somehow, despite all my training to kill, to be ruthless, to show no mercy, I had learned somewhere in my youth to love and to be loved. I think, I owe that all to you."

Jessa Bentu burst into tears and Dr. Bentu rolled his eyes. "Come on Jessa, lets find our seats. We'll talk to Mara later after they have greeted all their guests," he said as he guided the elderly woman away from the newlywed couple but before he left he leaned back to Luke, "Congratulations boy," he said with a wink. "You've got good taste in women."

Luke smiled wryly, "Thanks."

"This reception has an open bar, right?" The doctor said hopefully.

"You wouldn't have it any other way," he quipped at the doctor. The doctor gave Luke a broad smile as he led his wife away and found their assigned seats.

The reception and dinner lasted for hours. The new couple chatted with old and new friends, some people they have not seen for years. Mara spent almost an hour talking to Jessa Bentu about the time she spent with the elderly couple over forty years ago. Luke talked with his old Rogue Squadron buddies, tolerating their off color jokes and suggestive comments.

Finally after the last of the food was eaten and the drinks started flowing, Luke and Mara finally made their way out to the dance floor where they swayed to a slow romantic tune.

"Thank you for agreeing to be my wife," Luke said as he tightened his embrace and pulled Mara flush against his body as they danced.

"The offer was too good to pass up," she said with a smirk. "Who would give up the chance to spend a lifetime with such a sexy Farmboy?"

Luke feigned a disheartened look. "You want to be with the Farmboy and not the Jedi Master?"

"Oh, I like them both, but the Farmboy is far more eager, brash, and incorrigible," she said as she laid her head down on his shoulder. "Qualities I would highly value on my honeymoon night. The Jedi Master is… a little boring. He would probably just want to meditate for an hour and then go to sleep," she teased.

"Boring," Luke scoffed, "no, the Master definitely knows how to have fun." As soon as the words were said Mara felt the feathery sensation of invisible hands moving under her wedding dress. Suddenly she felt a light and playful pinch of her posterior.

"Luke!" Mara gasped with a start. "No fair using the Force that way! What would Yoda have said about that?"

Luke smiled, "Probably something like 'One very sexy wife, you have. Hmmmm. Yes, yes, very sexy.'"

Mara chuckled, but then her smile gave way to her best sultry look. "It was nice of your sister to volunteer to watch the kids while we are on our honeymoon… which I look forward to starting… very soon."

"Anxious, are you?" he said with a smug smile.

Mara rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "If I recall, it was you, not me, who wanted to wait until our wedding night."

"I just had to be sure…" Luke hesitated, "It just felt like the right thing to do… thank you for being so understanding," Luke said as he bent his head down and kissed his wife gently. The kiss started out simple, but it soon deepened until they finally had to pull apart to gasp for breath.

"Get a room you two!" Han joked as he and Leia danced by the newlyweds who were clutching to each other in the middle of the dance floor.

Luke flushed in embarrassment at his lack of control. "For once I think Han is right," Luke joked as he took Mara's hand and walked her off the dance floor.

The party was still going strong when the couple sneaked away to the luxury room provided for them as their honeymoon suite.

Luke unlocked the door and as it slid open he looked at Mara a little nervously, "I can't believe we're married."

"Neither can I," Mara smiled at him, "but now we are and we can be together now forever."

Moving forward, he boldly wrapped her in his warm embrace. "Yes," he agreed as he captured her lips with his and then pulled her into the room. "Forever."

.

.

**_One year after that, outside of Galactic PowerCredit Lotto Headquarters_ **

Jak Connor held up the crumpled, yellowed envelope in his hand. He was at the exact time and location that Jadie had specified. Nervously, he opened the last envelope. As he read his instructions from his long dead friend he became more and more perplexed.

' _Jak,'_ it started out. _'I know what I am going to ask of you now may seem unethical, but it is for the greater good of the galaxy. Listed below are tomorrow's Lotto numbers. They are for the Mega Lotto payoff of over six hundred million credits. Once you have the money, I need you to purchase the following property and destroy it. It is the location of a vast Sith library that must never be brought to light. The death of Lumiya only delayed its discovery; another will find it if it is not eradicated. If its knowledge is revealed a whole cascade of events will occur that will bring much misery and sorrow to the galaxy and to the ones I most love. All the details you need are on the following page. May the Force be with you, my friend. And thank you for everything._ '

Connor furrowed his brow in confusion as he glanced at the second page.

"Why would a Sith library be located on an asteroid iron mine near Bimmiel?"

 

~THE END~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: If you didn't understand the ending, it was just my attempt to make sure that the Legacy Of the Force series or the Legacy Comics never come to pass in my AU universe. This Sith Library and the people involved with it led to the downfall of Jacen Solo and a lot of death and destruction.


End file.
